Once upon A Fairytale
by Spiritual Stone
Summary: Link screamed as his legs snapped cleanly in two, his spine twisted and jerked, shoulder-blades jutting out the wrong way, body rippling and bursting with flames of agony, and his scream turned into a wolf's howl as he was mercilessly dragged away. SHINK
1. The Wonderful Musician

**Hello there, long time no see! Thanks for coming, and I hope you enjoy the show as I worked very hard for this fic, lol. You do not know how many times I went through wikipedia for the fairytales to base this story and the characters' stories on. Yeesh.**

**Anyway, I just wanted you to know that the chapters will be named after fairytales, which inspired said chapter. If it isn't I'll tell you. Yes, there is a fairy tale called the wonderful magician, at least acording to the Grimm's Brothers. They are so awesome. **

**Enough of my babbling! have fun reading!**

* * *

_**Fairytales—Meeting the Wonderful Musician**_

_Once upon a time there was a Queen whose vanity surpassed that of a hundred queens, for she was devastatingly beautiful. Many a Prince threw their lives away (or wives, if they were Kings) and fought over her hand. Once the final, bloody victory was won, and the Queen was wedded to the triumphant Lord, she poisoned him after Six weeks of marriage, bored of his woos and supposed love._

_She left the ruling of her now vast and war-ravaged empire to her deceased Husband's ministers, while her world narrowed down to her reflection._

_That is, until an invitation to a chancellor's newborn's celebration was cordially handed to the Queen. For the sake of relieving her boredom and curiosity, for she found that she was with child too, graced the halls of her inferiors with her presence._

_When the Vain Queen arrived, she was horrified to see the mother to be a woman of extraordinary beauty, and the baby-girl a mortal cherub, with eyes the exact shade of the divine heavens, hair as luscious as spun gold, her cheeks rosy as dawn._

_So mortified was she that the Vain Queen cut her finger on her ebony mourning brooch, splattering blood over her fine white lace._

_There was a silence more powerful than death, for the Vain Queen was known for her temper. But the Queen smiled, raised her injured hand and announced to the whole hall:_

_"Hear me, my servants, for the Goddesses have sent me a vision! I am with Child, and mine Heir will be as white and delicate as this lace, red and divine as my blood, and black and beautiful as my ebony jewel."_

_The Queen was showered with applause, and she relished in her triumph. She was sure in her heart that the child in her womb would, no, must surpass the chancellor's girl, and his beauty would win him the world thrice over._

But this, as they say, is another story…

* * *

"Link," he muttered to himself, "You're an idiot."

He was lost. He was completely and utterly lost in this stupid forest, and only because he'd been chased. By a dog, a snake, and a lizard.

In his defence, they'd been huge.

And they'd attacked him without provocation! Really, all he'd been doing was minding his business, hunting for a deer at best, a rabbit at worst, because Zelda had become so lean and baggy-eyed from overworking herself at Ordon's parish while their father did nothing but sit about and complain that they weren't royalty anymore.

Which was a lie. They'd never been royalty. Sure, they'd _lived_ at the Castle, but they'd never been royalty. Link would've remembered that.

Anyway, he'd been minding his own business. True, this part of the woods he'd never ventured into before, but that couldn't be helped. A new road was being built in his old hunting grounds, so game there was scarce. They'd be completely gone by a few months; Link needed meat _now_.

He'd caught sight of a fawn. The animal was still fairly young, and the man had teetered between hunting it, or letting it live to hunt down later. But if he could just reach for an arrow, slowly, as long as it didn't know what he was doing even if it was watching - _Damn_!

He'd bounded after the animal, teeth barred, growling obscenities at himself. Curse the thing and its speed; it was leaping and bounding away unhindered and unaware of the branches and roots and leaves and thorns that ensnared the boy each step.

Of course the creature escaped.

Link, defeated, had stumbled a few more paces before collapsing against a tree, linen undershirt drenched in sweat, green hooded tunic smeared with sap, hunting trousers ruined and his boots in worse shape. He would have to fix them again before Zelda insisted on doing it herself.

He closed his eyes as he collapsed against a tree. A quick swallow from his flask, and he'll carry on, get the meat, take it home, gut it and then let Zelda cook that broth she was so good at making, and hope to the Goddesses that father would finally _shut up_.

Alright, so, maybe the last part wasn't so realistic…

He opened his eyes once more. The sunlight streamed through the green canopy above like angels' staircases, lightly casting the murky surroundings in hues of earth-crusted jade, coating the clouds of insects with gold, repressing the curling canopy floor to the shadows. It was a strange effect of light and dark, a grotesque yet charming twilight. He decided to pull his ocarina out and play for a while. The music was soothing. One bar of Zelda's lullaby, and then he'll get back to work.

He looked down. Green. Spiky. _Huge_ Lizard.

The hunter yelped. Blink, went the creature. Blink-blink. Freaked out, the hunter abruptly scrubbed at his eyes, and when he looked again, the lizard was nowhere in sight.

"All… right," he muttered to himself nervously before carrying on. Hallucinations. Must be the hunger, but he was sure he ate breakfast that morning, meagre though it was…

There was a rustle in the ferns yonder, but he continued playing, pretending not to notice, and a snake that was thick as his forearm slithered from its roots, patterned like festive rope, glistening as if freshly dipped in poisonous syrup.

The hunter abruptly stopped. In his opinion, a good snake was a dead snake. And he didn't have the right equipment to kill it. Cursing himself and his idleness the young man stood to leave, but when he turned the other way, there was a young tawny shepherd's dog blocking the way, teeth bared. Right in front of him was the giant lizard from before.

Quick as a flash he retrieved his bow and arrow and readied the weapon, trying to aim at all of them at once. The snake he really wanted to get rid of but it was a small target, the lizard seemed harmless enough, though it looked too intelligent to be safe, and the dog, well, the teeth was _beyond_ worrying.

"Great," he muttered, "_Great_."

Of course he'd run away; what else was he supposed to do, get eaten?

He leapt over a bramble and staggered onward, propelled by aggressive barking. He looked behind and saw the dog. He looked to the side and thought he heard the vegetation crashing around, so guessed it was the lizard (how did that massive thing move so fast? Hell, it was as long as his _arm_!) and the snake was nowhere in sight, which worried him.

He saw a tree that branched in two, and he leapt over it. There was a yelp and a pained howl and the boy looked back long enough to see the dog was stuck in its cleft, legs dangling at each end.

The hunter used his painfully acquired hunting skills to check the vegetation and seeing something he recognised swerved to the left going for the trees he knew the roots were deep and thin and parasitic in nature. He dashed through branches of trees and bushes that steadily grew wispy and the ground squelched beneath him and just in time he caught sight of the bog and he leapt again and he heard a mighty splash behind him and he saw the lizard plummet into the murky water like a stone.

The snake slithered over the surface like oil. The hunter shuddered and leapt away.

What now, _what now_? How do you trap a snake? He half-scrambled up a tree to have a quick look at where he was going in the tinted half-light of these cursed woods and upon noticing an army of wild ferns he sprinted for them, the snake intently pursuing.

The ferns were knee-height to the Hylian. It must be a forest to the snake, surely? He crashed round a bit, then jumped and grabbed a sturdy tree branch overhead and hauled himself up, hoping the snake didn't notice. It seemed it didn't as it continued to blindly slide through the thin trunks of the ferns, and sighing in relief, the boy scrambled on the branch, leapt out of the tree, and promptly jogged away the way he had come.

Or… the way he _thought_ he'd come.

…,…,…

Two hours and he realised he had no idea where he was, except that he was nowhere near his home. He was sweating, tired, had some dried plums, and a few slices of bread crusts. Hardly enough for a midday meal, much less supper for the night as well.

Huffing against his knees, his pointed ears twitched at another noise. Link peered into the distance exasperatedly, thinking, _what now_, and saw burgundy fluttering unnaturally between the trees, and after a moment of confusion he realised it was clothing. A cape. Or a cloak.

"Hey," he called out, waving limply. The red cape paused and turned towards him. It approached cautiously, and Link saw that the hood dipped low over the wearer's eyes, and a cowl was pulled all the way up to the nose. He held a staff with a bandaged hand. He wore haggard riding trousers and boots.

"Good evening." Red-hood's voice was husky and inquisitive, young. It was impossible to tell the gender though he thought it likely red-hood was male.

"And to you," Link huffed a tad sarcastically, wiping sweat off his brow, "I'm sorry to bother you, but where's the border to Ordon?"

"…Ordon?"

Oh no. Please, Nayru, don't let the one person he needed be a wandering dullard. "Uh… the nearest village? A cluster of cottages and huts, a river goes through it, known for its goats…?"

"Ah." Red-hood nodded. Link sighed in relief as the newcomer pointed its walking stick straight to the left behind him. "An hour's walk in that direction."

Link choked. "An_ hour_?"

"Aye."

Link swayed. He was sure as him having two feet that he would be lost again within ten minutes. "Do you think you could lead the way? I'm lost."

Red-hood snorted and shrugged. "It is not my business. Unless you believe I have an obligation to lend you this favour?"

Link hesitated. Red-hood had a point, despite the unkind nature of his words.

Red-hood shrugged again at his silence. "Then I'll take my leave."

Link opened his mouth to say something but there was a bark and hiss and scraggle and the Dog and Snake and Lizard was facing him again, looking livid with splinters in fur, mud in creases and twigs in scales. The hunter growled with savage irritation at these animals.

But then they noticed Red-hood. Shockingly enough, they quailed at his presence. Then Red-hood made a violent sound at the back of his throat and the animals ran away with metaphorical tails between their equally metaphorical legs.

The boy blinked. "Uh… wow."

"Enchanted Animals," Red-hood spoke with too much certainty to be comfortable, as he gestured again in the general direction of Ordon, "You shouldn't rove here. Leave."

"No wait!" Red-hood turned back, the stance clearly showing impatience, "How… how about a trade? A favour for a favour. If you do this for me, I'll have to do something for you in return, right? Let me do something for you. Within reason."

"Hmm…" he cocked his head to the side, and his hum was contemplative as his rigid stance relaxed. "Something troubled me earlier… it's not far; in fact on the way to your Ordon. If you would help me, I would lead you there. Does that seem a good trade?"

Link nodded vigorously; it was the best chance home he had.

"Come then," Red-hood prompted with a twitch of his staff, and the Hunter boy gladly followed; there was silence for a while, except for the rustling of fallen leaves under his boots, the occasional cry of a bird or animal. The shadows were becoming deeper, and he couldn't tell whether it was because they were going further into the wild trees or because night was approaching. He tried to cover his unease by starting conversation, but when he offered his name a grunt was all he got.

He tried again. "Um… what's your name?"

"Sheik."

And that was the end.

It was a quick walk to the destination, which happened to be a well that was nestled comfortably in a sunlit grove, trees keeping a respectable distance away from the stone structure. There was a fairly new tripod as tall as two men next to it, which seemed to have been knocked to the side into said trees. It held something at its apex, though Link wasn't quite sure what.

"I need this upright," Sheik told him, for the first time displaying an emotion that wasn't impatience or indifference. He sounded worried. "I… I believe I may not be strong enough to do it on my own. I would be grateful if you could help me fix it."

"Sure," Link said, unhitching his equipment from his shoulder, "Let's do this."

The sigh Sheik let escape was relieved. Link couldn't help a small, self-satisfied smile.

They tugged, but it wouldn't budge. They heaved, and it shifted a little but didn't do much else. Sheik noticed, cursing, that some branches had been caught in the structure, so climbed himself up while instructing Link to push the tripod come which way, and finally the thing stood on its three legs.

_After_ depositing whatever rested at its peak into the well a pace away.

"_No_!" was Sheik's strangled cry as it clattered into the abyss, "No, no, no, no…"

Link's eyes widened with alarm when Sheik began scrambling down the tree, threatening a fatal fall. The corner of his red hood caught in a twig, and one of Sheik's hands jerked across a broken branch and bloomed blood. Link thought he saw a flash of reflected light from his hidden eyes and he shivered instinctively. "Wow, easy! I'll get it, whatever it is, just calm down, alright?"

Sheik froze, and Link used the opportunity of hesitation/calm to carefully step over the rim of the well and inched down the jutted stone steps that spiralled into the darkness.

It was a fairly shallow well, considering the fact that it _was_ a well. And it was dry, too, so in surprisingly no time (or was the darkness tricking him?) he reached its bottom, and found the thing. It was pretty easy, considering it was _glowing_ with _blue light_.

Immediately, Link didn't want to touch it.

From the blue glow it emitted Link could tell that it was a flute, and it was broken into three pieces. He hoped, as the light died, that he would not be blamed for its damage.

"…!" Sheik's muffled voice came down twisted and warped by the wall and distance, making comprehension impossible.

"I'm coming!" Link bellowed in reply, clapping his hands to his ears when the echoes reverberated tenfold in the confined space. He pulled a piece of cloth from a pouch attached to his belt to gather the pieces of the flute before climbing up, keeping the package as far away from himself as he could. His legs were aching by the time he dragged himself over the lip of the well.

"So?" Sheik muttered anxiously, "Where is it?"

He handed him the bundle of cloth, hastily. "It… it broke from the fall. Sorry."

The hand that held the flute pieces shook. There was a slow, painful gasp from beneath the red hood, and the muffled voice admitted, reluctantly, "It's… not your fault. We best leave for your village; we've loitered here too long. Come."

With that, he led the way without saying another word. Link was glad of that.

The journey was, again, surprisingly quick. He even recognised the tree he leaned against to play his ocarina. The sunlight broke through the leaves with more strength with each step, and soon they were at the tree-line to Ordon Ranch. It was an easy walk home from here. Link considered offering Sheik some hospitality; a cup of tea with maybe some dried apricots, but when he turned back there was no sign of red, and it was with an annoyed huff that Link trudged home.

…,…,…

Of course he got a _massive _hiding from his sister. "Zel, _I'm sorry_!"

The poor girl was teary eyed and her face was smeared with sorrow and her fists hurt from clenching in fear for so long. "Just, just don't _do_ that again I nearly _died_ of fright!"

"Same here," Link muttered beneath his breath before speaking to her properly, "Look, I'll make it up to you, Zel, just calm down and… where's dad?"

Zelda sniffed and wiped at her eyes, taking a long, steadying breath, "Post Office."

"…_Why_?" the mail never meant good news. Sometimes edicts to kick them out. Sometimes complaints. News reporting a decline of supplies. Most of the time from friends who used to be aristocrats moaning about life which, in turn, caused their father to moan and rave against his children.

"I…" Zelda sniffed and admitted as if to a petty crime, "I'm going to Nayru's Shrine."

Link's jaw dropped. Nayru's Shrine. A Temple with a strict order of decorum, worship, of study and law dedicated to Wisdom, which supposedly let in only the most devout of the Goddess' followers. It had been Zelda's dream to enter since she was ten.

"That's amazing!"

"But I only got in because Father begged them to!"

"Who _cares_?" Link crowed in delight, grabbing his little sister's waist and lifting her up and twirling her like the princess she was. No, _priestess_ now! "Just prove you're good!"

Needless to say, there was a party that night, and their father, without a doubt used up all coinage they had left and the grain in the basement too. But that was quickly forgotten when the villagers brought some of their own goods like cheese and fruit and wine.

The next morning, with many headaches all round, the villagers helped to pack so Zelda could leave immediately. Link found no surprise in noting his father going with her, considering the rash usage of supplies the previous night. Not to mention as father of the newly initiated, he would have a nice luxurious flat waiting for him in Kakariko.

Link waved them away with a big, wide grin, conflicting between happy-for-his-sister and that-jack-ass-SOB-of-a-father-better-not-come-back-any-time-soon. And the pathetic calls that 'aid will be coming soon!' was quickly discarded as bullshit.

The villagers left. He was alone. He found that, when everything had settled down, the largish house was… quiet. He finished up last-night's dinner, and told himself he _really_ should get some meat. He'll hunt again tomorrow.

He sighed. He tried reading, but was bored with Zelda's remaining philosophy. He remembered the book their nurse had given them and searched through the whole house, and eventually found it under a pile of out-dated maps. He flicked through it, smiling at his favourite stories and grimacing at the ones with grisly ends that Fanadi had kindly censored.

It didn't get dark fast enough. He decided to sleep early to stave off the boredom. So, with the rays of twilight fighting against the curtains to bother him, Link burrowed into his bed and willed himself to sleep.

He struggled against dreams. Dreams of dark figures cackling at the sky, of children screaming, forests burning, a figure struck down and falling lifeless against his chest and his inability to move the corpse off of him, the pain at his chest tore him asunder-

Link jumped awake. But then decided he must still be dreaming, for there was a mighty beast leaning on his chest, growling into his face with a row of a thousand teeth. Its body was molten gold and fire, laced with a thousand black stains of death, eyes as red as a sunset on a battle field, and a mane as white as a valley full of bleached bones.

"_Where is the Spirit?_" the thing growled a thousand different threats in each word.

Link was blearily puzzled. That voice sounded familiar…

"_WHERE,_" the creature roared, opening a mouth as black as a void, "_IS NAVI!?_"

He tried to move the massive paw that constricted his breathing. The creature's molten, gold and orange body flickered with darkness, like a devouring flame. "_Tell me where the fay is before I tear you apart, MORTAL!_"

The inhuman roar woke him like a shot of lightning. His heart raced in his ribs and he gasped at the sudden pain in his chest as claws gouged into his skin. "I don't know!"

The screaming shriek tore across the house like a storm, rattling books in their shelves and tables on the floor, a sick meld of frustration and fury and desperate fear, a chaos of sound that knifed the heavens and woke every single villager of Ordon.

Link clenched his eyes shut, sure he would be eaten, but the thing leapt away and twisted in midair, landing at the foot of his bed as Sheik Red-hood, completely faceless with the layers of cloth. "_Fine_," he hissed, "If you wish to play it that way, _fine_. Don't say I didn't warn you, _SLAVE_!"

A hand shot out of the folds of red and Link's scream pierced the room as his legs snapped cleanly in two and his spine twisted and jerked. His strangled cry was renewed as his shoulder-blades jutted out the wrong way, and his fingers curled and shrunk like diseased flesh and his body rippled and burst with flames of agony and his scream turned into a howl, his skull melted and reshaped and blurred his sight, he fell on his fours and couldn't get up, and when everything, everything stopped, he could hear only his laboured breathing, the creaking pains of his muscles, the frantic beating of his heart.

His nose hurt. His room stank. His eyes hurt. When he opened them everything seemed darker, yet lighter at the same time, everything in front of him was in stark detail yet a few paces forward it was vague. He could see paws. He tried moving his hands, and the paws moved. He opened his mouth and a growl rolled out of his throat, and on every inch of his skin he could feel fur.

"Huh, a wolf," Sheik muttered contemptuously, and with a click of his fingers there was a metal lead in his hand, connected to a thick black-stone manacle on Link's paw, "Wild you may be, but you'll learn obedience quickly for this."

Link was forcefully dragged outside, his barks and howls reaching blindly for the moon.

**_

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_**

**Who saw that coming? Seriously, who saw that coming? **

**Aw, wait, I didn't mention that this was based on Twilight Princess, did I? Curses...**

**SPEAKING OF!! Who else is f---ing annoyed that when you think of said game above, the Twilight book/movie series impede your thoughts? OH MY GOD I want to burn those books now because it's so annoying. No offence. Just, gah.**

**It's just not fair that Bella Swann gets more attenion than Midna or Zelda. OUR princesses are way cooler. and prettier. Not mention less whiney.**

**Soo... despite the fact that I just offended like, the majority of you... review?**


	2. The Blue Light

**Hahaha, okay, so far so good, I think! Thank you to those who've read, thank you to those for reviewing, and especially to _Passivesheep_ who put this on story alert. Yaaaaaay! XD**

**And thanks to the _Double-faced Muse_ for putting this one favourites! I saw the list and must be the most extensive one on the face of FFnet. Seriously. It's huge. THANKS! **

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_**The Blue Light**_

_In this land, many years ago, was once an Imp who had a brilliant mind, but could not share her ideas for falling ill and losing her voice. Her Sisters despaired, but diligently healed her though they suspected that her throat would never work._

_But one year, the Imp managed a croak and inadvertently summoned a frog. In secret the frog taught her his language and she spoke the tongue of Leatherskins._

_After two months of croaking the Imp found that she still could not communicate her ideas with her Sisters, and feeling lonely and tearful, slept in the day and walked at night. She cleared her throat and imitated the barking and howling of the dogs and wolves against the moon, and inadvertently summoned a hound. There she learnt the tongue of Furskins._

_After three months of croaking and howling, the Imp saw hope and for three days imitated the songs of birds, and inadvertently summoned a dove. It taught her the tongue of Featherskins, and the Imp was delighted. Months she croaked, hissed, barked, howled, chirped and trilled, but spoke not a word of her birth-tongue._

But that is, as they say, a silly wives' tale…

* * *

...,...,...

The rest of the night was dominated by instinct and panic and rage.

Smells that he had never noticed before assaulted his senses, driving him insane with the inability to identify them all, and the sense of being half blind yet aware of everything was disorienting him like nothing else. He struggled against his own skin smothered by fur; it was a chaos of sound and sense and pain as he was dragged down the stairs and out through the front door.

The night cold shook him and the pain in his shackled paw brought him out of his panic and he recognised the figure in the half-light of the moon, rage boiled in his gut at the figure that turned, seemed to sneer at him under that bandaged face. He lunged wild with fury the wish to tear-tear-tear at the flesh of this-

_Zap_. Link yelped as he was repelled by like a gust of wind or gravity itself, trails of lightning sizzling his bones. He shook it off and tried again, but another _zap_ and he was thrown backwards through the air, hurtling against the grass with a painful thud. They neared the tree-line.

Nothing worked to stop his fate. He'd struggled like a dead weight, clawing at roots and snapping at tree branches to impede their progress, but Sheik was stubborn and Link's paw hurt from being ruthlessly tugged at. It eventually bled from being cut by the corner of the stone cuff. The wolf was forced to stand unless he wanted the appendage removed.

The moonlight nearly blinded him after the perpetual darkness of the trees. He saw with a wince that they'd entered a clearing shaded in the sparse foliage of an ancient maple, the starlight bursting silver against the grim stones of a cottage. The cottage itself was relatively large, perhaps a yard or two wider than an average hut, and ominously tall. Stuck on the cottage's side almost as an afterthought was a collection of nailed boards that clawed out like a monster's hand, but they avoided that haphazard structure and went straight for the cottage.

There was a small tree to the side of its door. In the darkness its leaves were black as deadly pitch, and its marble white flowers were like skulls of rodents.

There was lamplight inside the structure, illuminating the twisted door, shining in beady eyes that framed the wooden portal.

The chain leapt from Sheik's hand to the tree's root and it dug itself in so deep that Link could hardly walk five paces any which way.

"This is not your business." Sheik told the blinking eyes coldly, and they disappeared like spirits.

Very fitting atmosphere for a sorcerer's house, Link couldn't help but think sardonically before the pain in his wrist (correction, paw) throbbed a reminder. Link yelped as the fur on his head was tugged at, and was forcefully made to look up at Sheik's hidden face. His nose detected decay from the cloths.

"Tell me before I make things worse. Where is Navi?"

Link growled. _I can hardly tell since I can't speak now, can I? Idiot._

Sheik growled right back; Link realised with horror that he understood. _Do not mess with me, mongrel._

_I don't even know what a Navi is! You can't just go round t-_ his outraged barking degenerated into a hiss of pain, having stood on his injured paw. Sheik shook his head with his still captured fur. "That flute. Did you break it?"

_No!_ Link glared murder at the bandaged face, wishing to bite down and destroy and spill blood as thick as mud. _It broke on its own._

"What did you see down that well!"

Link swore at him and was rewarded with another shake of the head. He lunged but was repelled again, this time with a bolt to his forehead like a bee-sting. He cried out in pain. Sheik's voice was filled with strained patience as he asked deliberately slowly, "Did you see a blue light?"

_Yes, _Link whined, tears leaking down his snout. Gods, it hurt. It hurt_. But it died._

"It can't have!"

Anger coursed through his veins. _It died and I picked up the pieces and that was it! _

Sheik released him with a spiteful noise in his throat, throwing curses all over the place, though nothing burst to flame or withered or anything. But Link trembled with hate and anger. He'd done nothing wrong. Nothing.

Sheik knelt by Link once more, raising his head by pushing the head of his staff under his long jaw. "What did you have in your pockets? Any instrument, anything?"

Link made a vicious curse and told him just how much he wanted to end Sheik's life, coupled with lots of cussing, but there was no stab of pain, and Sheik only repeated the question. Link growled.

Sheik growled back. _Make it easy for us both and TELL ME._

_Bite me._ Link snapped, curling his lips back to reveal his shiny teeth, daring him to try.

Sheik's bandages glowed. The red hood oozed with molten light, the wrappings round Sheik's face split open and jagged blackness sprouted and they dripped with poison and-

Link struck, bit, tore, raked his teeth across the demon's neck, blood bursting through his jaw in a red-hot fountain, pouring and dripping over his teeth and gums and paws, the bones crunching beneath his brute strength like brittle crackers and the half-demon gave a mute keen of agony as he ripped his teeth away, spattering gore through the crisp air.

Sheik stumbled away, morphing back to his mortal form, clutching his shoulder that welled with blood that looked blacker than the night, and Link felt a satisfaction just as black, for he had made the sorcerer pay for the useless and demeaning torture.

The sorcerer staggered to his feet, and hair that looked white as bleached bones spilled haphazardly across his shoulder, the edge of the white screen staining with blood. The hood was torn to shreds round the injury and Link could see that the arm connected to the shoulder was dangling uselessly. But Sheik's voice was still commanding and held no waver as he turned and stumbled for the tree-line, "For compensation for my journey ahead, you will stay here as prisoner until my return. My familiars will watch you, and if you abuse them in any way, shape, or form, physical or mental, I will slit your stomach open and feed you to the vultures until you die _deaf_ from your own screams."

Link growled back menacingly, until the figure was swallowed by the night. The wolf spat as best he could into the grass before settling onto the stone step, resting his head resentfully onto his crossed forelegs. His fur was like a blanket, so the wind didn't bother him much. He watched the edge of the clearing, making sure the bastard of a sorcerer didn't come back, before he grudgingly closed his eyes and slept.

…,…,…

"Wake up… wake up!"

Link snorted and swatted his paw against the hand that shook him but he was swatted back, the voice filled with desperation as it insisted that he woke up. Link did so grudgingly.

He yelped in fright and gave a mad scramble _away_ from the boy, heart beating a hundred times a second because this boy, holy gods this boy was half, half _something_!

The visible skin was covered by a blanket of reddish fur, and his nose looked like it belonged to a horse. His head was a mop of strawberry blonde hair that bleached in colour at the ends, and his ears were impossible long and pointed, almost knifing above the crown of his skull.

The child flinched, but he seemed already on the brink of panic so recovered quickly. "We hafta clean… we hafta clean the mess, if the others sawr't you…" his gaze flickered all over the place, taking in the puddle of blood that was dried black as ink, the same stuff that splattered the wall and grass. The boy's kind expression twisted with grief, and tears welled in his young eyes. "You bit Sheik."

Link's grunt, after recovering some of his bravery, was very uncaring. The boy that could be no more than nine years old glared at the wolf and hissed furiously, scrunching his paw-like hands. "If the others foun'ou' they'll kill ya! Beth'll poke your eyes out an' Luda'll strangle you an' Agitha'd cry and Malo and Talo'll beat ya t'pulp! Sheik takes care'a'us, an' if they see… this, they'll look for Sheik an' we'll all get lost an' what'll happen ta'us? Sheik'll worry an' you'll starve and we…"

The little blonde knuckled his eyes and rushed back into the house and came back mere moments later, a bucket of water and a bundle of rags in hand. He furiously dunked it and started on the stone doorstep, where a particularly nasty splatter of black marred the pristine grey, "So I'm ganna make sure this'sall clean when the others wake up. Nobody 'cept me heard the scream. I though't'was you, but…"

He sniffed long and loudly, wiping at his tears again. Some hairs fell from his arm. He continued, muttering to himself, "Sheik wouln't' wan'us to know…"

_So that leaves you covering up for me?_ Link asked him contemptuously. _That bastard got what he deserved._

"Sheik's not! Sheik takes _care_ a'us, you've got no righ', mister, you, you, you gotta help me, the others'll be down soon…"

Link huffed and looked away. Wetness went _splat_ against the back of his head. The wolf snapped and glared at the boy that seemed to terribly regret his rash action, but trembling, he looked the beast in the eye. "Agitha reckons you're nice. If you're nice, ya gotta help me. Please, mister, please."

It irked him that Red-hood could inspire so much loyalty. But he supposed that if he really was staying here (and not staying seemed highly unlikely) he might as well be civil with the resident kids…

Making sure his posture oozed annoyance Link dipped a paw into the water, awkwardly fished out a rag and began to scrub.

As he did so, more hairs fell in tufts from the boy's arms and legs, and they were swiftly swept away as well. When Link looked at him his nose and ears were more normal, and his eyes were drooping, humanising.

_What_ is _this place?_ Link hissed at it, a strange sort of indignation and fear in his tone.

"Our home," the animal-thing shrugged, "Fer now. Move 'round lots."

_What are _you_?_

"M' Hylian," the boy chuckled uneasily, "We get turn'd t'animals when we need ta, and stay 'at way if we 'pset Sheik. B'just f'the nigh'," he added in defence when Link looked appalled.

_Why__?_

"Oh, uh… we wan'ed to trick you here, 'cause… um… jus'cause. Anway, we didn' know that you're a hunter an' Sheik got real 'pset sayin' that we near could've bin killed, so I said'i'was my idea. I don' min'."

Link's stomach turned as he remembered the deer from the hunt.

_So… this is your family?_

"Well…" the rapidly doe-turning-boy's tone was contemplative, but then cheery. "Yep. Sheik's a mum an' da at once, an' evrybody'lse're like cousins."

Link felt himself pale. _Everybody else_?

…,…,…

Breakfast was an awkward affair. Without opposable thumbs it was basically impossible to eat without making a fuss, and he wasn't even sure the slice of bread with honey was good for his canine system. Heck, he hadn't even been sure whether he could get into the house with such a short chain attached to his foreleg, but in the morning he was surprised to find the manacle was there, but the chain ended at two or three rings, tying him nowhere. When he thought of escape, pop, and the rest materialised out of thin air, the end firmly buried at the roots of the tree.

The black tree looked _evil_. The bark was like pieces of marble wrapping clay-coloured skin, with leaves like deadly onyx fragments. From the flowers he saw it was an apple tree, but there was no fruit, despite the season.

The residents of the cottage, aside from Sheik, all seemed to be children that were shockingly real and human, though with some strange attributes, and judging by the way they devoured their respective piece of honeyed bread they were _hungry_.

When they finished they wouldn't stop staring at him, and Link huffed and stared back, intending to intimidate them into looking away. The blonde boy that had guilted him into cleaning the blackened blood off the front of the house turned to the others with a worried frown and asked, "What d'we do now?"

The head of the table was empty, most-likely reserved for the wizard. On either side two girls sat, and they glared at each other before the pale one sat up primly, her face a myriad of freckles that surrounded a beak of a nose, haloed by brown hair as thick as feathers. Link thought he saw an actual feather in her locks, but with a blink it was gone. "_I_ think we should _introduce_ ourselves. _My_ name's Beth and _I've_ been here the _longest_."

The other girl, who had hair dark as coal and skin that paled a few shades to dirt, thick brows tilted in an annoyed frown, muttered, "My name's Luda. Hi."

She scratched her cheek, and a long piece of skin flaked off, but her face was unmarred as she absentmindedly brushed it away.

Link's gaze went down the table and on the pale girl's side sat another girl, who had stubborn ginger pigtails high on her head, with, strangely enough, a parasol in her hands. "I'm Agitha." She hooted with a little smile and wide copper eyes, "How do you do?"

_Feeling chained, thanks,_ Link yipped cheerfully, assuming correctly that they wouldn't detect his sarcasm in his canine reply,

"I'm Colin," the loyal (now completely blond) boy waved but did nothing else.

Opposite him, well away from the block of girls was another two boys, who looked both similar yet completely different at the same time. Link decided that they must be siblings. Or related, at most. They were both brown haired, and one looked no older then seven while the other was maybe… eleven? Twelve? Come to think of it all the children of that age-group, though Beth seemed near fourteen, maybe even fifteen.

"I'm Talo, and this is Malo," said the last brown-haired boy, thumbing at the younger and bringing back Link's attention, "We're brothers,"

"Now," Luda announced gruffly, earning a scowl from Beth, "That introductions are over, I think we have the right to ask you a few things."

On cue, the Chain round Link's paw tightened and the end made itself a home in the boards of the cottage floor. Link growled with ire.

"What did you do to upset Sheik so much?" was Luda's question, and the wolf rolled its eyes.

_Nothing. _

"He says nothing," Colin translated.

The older boy (Malo? Talo? Link was confused already), made a scornful noise at the back of his throat, "Is he lying?"

The brown skinned girl frowned. "I don't think so."

"What _I'd_ like to know," Beth interjected forcefully, "Is _why_ she'd leave us without _telling_ us where she's _going_. _Honestly_, this hasn't _happened_ before." She glared at the wolf and frowned at him as if he was something disgusting on her shoe. "She _brought_ you here. Why?"

Link really didn't like the freckle-face's attitude. He told her so, and Colin reluctantly translated.

The wolf turned on the unsure face, annoyed. _How do you know what I'm saying?_

"Oh," the boy's grin was sheepish, "It lasts a bit afta turnin'furry."

"Well?" the two leader-ish girls spoke at the same time, glaring lividly at one another as the others waited.

Link didn't enjoy being questioned by children at all. _She thinks I stole something from you. A nuvee or something._

Wait, he thought to himself as Colin turned green, repeated what he'd said, and the children looked horrified and bent over the table to converse in alarmed hissing, She? Sheik's a girl? Guilt began to curl his insides, but then again, he thought, shaking his head, judging by the hair Sheik was a crone. If she had enough energy/magic to turn into demons on a regular basis, there was no reason why she wouldn't… he didn't know, heal herself or something. Besides, she still deserved it... right?

His head was jerked to the side by a hand under his jaw and Link snapped his teeth and Luda jerked back with a shriek clutching her hand to her chest. The children yelled in outrage and dived out of their seats and seemed ready to lynch him and Link braced himself for the blows when there was a piercing whistle and everybody stopped moving.

The youngest brown-haired boy lowered his fingers from his mouth, calm and sensible and looking mildly glum at everybody's antics. He looked at Link with half-lidded eyes, almost nonchalant as he asked. "Did you see a blue light?"

Link nodded slowly. _But it was gone when I picked up the flute. _Mud-face was teary-eyed as she let ginger-hair check her hand for injuries. Thankfully it wasn't bleeding.

"What'd he say Colin?" The younger boy spoke slowly, and Link quickly told himself that the younger was Malo. T for tall. M for mellow.

"He said yes," The older boy trembled, clearly afraid, "An' that Navi disappeared."

"But why?" the ginger-haired girl, Agitha hooted curiously next to Luda, who had sniffled a few tears down her face though she was trying to look brave.

Guilt nudged his stomach and Link sighed, wishing that this nightmare would soon end, _The flute broke. It fell down a well._

"We need to talk," Beth gestured towards everybody else and they milled next to Luda who was still cradling her shaking hand and they whispered and hissed and glanced back at him numerous times, plotting and scheming and worrying.

Link rolled his eyes and called out, _What's a Nuvee?_

They looked at him, then at Colin, and he said to the others, "He asked what Navi is."

"Navi's a fairy." Luda explained, self-assuring rubbing her hand, "She likes music, so Sheik made her a flute house. She's supposed to keep us safe, but..."

"If she's gone," Malo concluded, "Anybody can get at us."

"Or any_thing_." Talo muttered darkly.

Link whumped against the floor, neatly folded his paws above his head, and despaired with eyes closed. Fairies? _Fairies_? The day was getting more and more ridiculous. He was a wolf, the children had funny powers, Sheik was a witch, and the blue light was a fairy, and... and...

Uuuggghh...

"You had a flute with you, right?"

Link looked up, sceptically meeting Malo's gaze. For the youngest looking he seemed the most calm and logical. The wolf nodded his head, remembering his ocarina.

"Well," Malo reasoned with bland patience, "Wouldn't Navi be in your flute, since you broke it?"

"'Zit atche house?" Colin added excitedly, but quailed at Talo's annoyed glare. Link nodded.

"Then let's _go_," Beth stood, helping Luda up. Luda yanked her arm from Beth's grip huffily, wiping her tears away and determinedly not meeting the freckle-faced girl's eyes. The shorter girl seemed not to notice. "I bet Sheik'll be there, looking for it. If we can get to her and Navi, and once she sees that you didn't mean harm, she should let you go."

Luda looked unhappy at the notion. Link heard Talo mutter, "Yeah, right."

Link reckoned he had no choice, so, with brash Talo leading the way, the whole entourage took to the trees, Agitha being the only one that was either fearless or stupid enough to hold the end of his chain. The only reason he didn't mind was because it didn't drag on the stupid ground.

A few more minutes of walking, stopping, and walking again, Link realised that the trees were thinning out, and a few minutes more and he caught the sight of the edge of the woods. There he could hear the trickle of the river, and the soft baying of the ordonian goats. There was a clang of metal on fiery metal, and he noted that they were pretty close to the smithy.

"Where's your house?"

Link admitted to himself that he was surprised that Beth had spoken but said nothing and gestured with his snout. They had lived a little way off the edge of the village, as if their modest house wished to hide away from the mangier houses in the village itself. _Not_, that their house wasn't that mangy, anyway.

They approached, and there was oohs and aahs from most of the children, though Beth still looked sullenly at the two-storied house and Luda, well... she looked distant. Link had never been good at interpreting facial expressions.

They barged into his house, shouting Sheik's name, though there was silence. They scrambled round, looking into cupboards and chests of old clothing and climbing shelves and what-not, which seemed extremely silly especially when Luda and Beth joined in on the witch-hunt. Link found himself sitting next to a bored looking Malo.

"Hey, Wolf!" Talo shouted from upstairs, "There ain't no Sheik or flute!"

Link growled, pointing out that he had never said that Sheik could be around, and of course the ocarina was here, it was...

It was...?

No. Oh no. _Oh no_.

Link was frozen to the spot, glued down by horror, eyes widening at the dim memory of a yesterday morning that was too close, all too close to this nightmare of magic and witch-craft.

Zelda had begun to cry, before she'd climbed into the wagon. She was worried as usual, wandering whether he could take care himself and cook himself a decent meal so he wouldn't starve and she would miss him, and Link had made her stop blabbering and he'd handed her his ocarina as a token, did she remember when they were kids they…?

Link bolted. The children shouted in horror and dismay that was only a fraction of his explosive terror that coursed through his blood and made his body move without thinking because _Zelda_ had the ocarina and the ocarina had the fairy and the witch was after the fairy and now the witch was after Zelda and it was his fault, all his fault, and if that witch got at Zelda-

_Bang_!

A yelp escaped him as he was thrown backward, a pain like lightning roiling in his muscles. He knew this pain. But how could—wild hope surged in him that the witch was still here he could explain what was wrong—no, as he looked up he could see a film of something, a twilight sheet of blacks and oranges and purples lining themselves like runic clouds and he followed its curve, globing above and behind, and he instinctively knew that the centre of this prison would be the witch's hut.

_Zelda_. His heart hammered with painful dread coated in despair. _Zelda. Zelda. Zelda._

* * *

**Dun Dun duuuuuuuuun! My total epic fail at cliffy! Hows'it? **

**And if you know about my stuff, you saw that coming. I mean, come on. I have ONE fic in which Sheik stays male. You think that was going to change? I just can't write that stuff! It's not like I have anything against it, (check my favourites) it's just that I CAN'T. I dunno how to. (-3-)Romance is Romance. **

**Okay, now for review replies. **

**_Passivesheep_: Yay, first review! Thank you muchly. And I am so glad that people agree with me. I mean, what does Bella have that Zelda doesn't? On contraire, Zelda's got kick-ass magic and adventure, right? XD Hope you like this chapter, it's mostly intro stuff.**

**_Zeldalover29_: Thanks for the review! Hopefully this chapter would keep to standards, though I admit to some point that it's not that eventfull... anyhoo, hope you enjoy. Peace forever!**

**_Meg_: HI MEG! Yay you're back! Love your reviews, and hope to see more of them! XD And I'll try to keep the updates regular this time, you know, no two year gaps and stuff, lol. Anyway... huh, I never thought of that, blurring reality and illusion and stuff. That's deep, man. So yeah, the confusion's not that deliberate, sorry. (-.-;;) I'll fix that later. Thanks for the note.**

**_LadyAlamantia_: Lady, my dear friend! How's it going? Thanks for the review, and hope you enjoy this chapter. Hehehe, angry Sheikie. I always wondered what kind of temper s/he could be capable of, and how I could make it worse. I thought the magic-transformy would raise it to epic proprtions, and there it was! XD Hopefully it worked. And if the books mock you, mock them back by taking care of the others. Make them jealous! XO**

**_Teriyaki Chicken_: Indeed, Sheik is an angry, angry person. But our mysterious friend has reasons. They will be known later! (0.o) The fairytale at the start is kind of a teaser, and my take on the original fairytales, how they can be bent and stuff. You can tell that it's a parody of Snow white, right? ... Right? Anyway, thanks and hope you enjoy!**

**Aaaaaaanyway, review now, please?**


	3. The Pixie Ring

**Howdy partners! Thanks for the reviews! Gosh, this is exciting; my second long-term story and it's getting pretty heated! XD **

**Which is a total, blatant lie. I mean, the action in the last chapter? NON-EXISTANT.**

**Aaaaaanyway, hope you guys enjoy this. Oh, and thank you to _The Mistress of Shadow Dragons _and _StormWolf9 _for putting this on alerts, and please tell me if I've missed anybody else. **

**Oh and reviews!**

**_Lady Alamantia_: She helped me with the summary! Huzzah to her! And, lol, she was the first hit-and-review. Much love, LA! The last Chapter itself was based on the fairytale called 'The Blue Light', though the whole, 'meeting with the six-little-helpers' was more a parody of Snow White. The mini-fairytale at the beginning... i forget. I know the farytale involved a princess who could sing well but couldn't when meeting a Prince and learning to sing again from a frog, cat and owl respectively, which obviously leads to some problems... Yeah, Sheik wouldn't admit it, but she's a bit maternal. XD Don't worry, our Twilight Princess will come out soon enough! (again, lying XP)**

**_HumanRiot_: Thank you muchly! Hahaha, I'm glad you think the plot's original, though I COULD argue that it isn't. But meh, fanfics. The point of them that they're not really original anyway, lol. Thanks for the compliment!And I'll try and hope you're not TOO dissappointed by this chapter... **

**_StormWolf9_: Wow, such a long review! XD Thank you so much for your compliments! Indeed, Link has a LOT to worry about, but hopefully it'll work out for him. And don't worry, our precious Imp will be part of the mix, just... not, quite so soon... sorry! DX. I'm sorry to say when you mentioned Twilight i pointed at the screen and laughed. You poor unfortunate creature! I congratulate you on your stupendous effort to make that night your own! **

**Hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

**_The Pixie Ring_**

_Once upon a time, when fairies were still but a figment of a dream and they kept themselves well away from the mortal world, a Stranger came to their court, and their Princess treated the Stranger most kindly and generously._

_The Stranger it seemed, had been wronged; a precious artefact was stolen from his coffers, and was searching through dimensions for the thief. The Princess took pity and personally guided him through their land of starlight and moonshine and jewel-mist. There was no thief, but the eternal splendour of the land enthralled the Stranger into forgetting the thief and thinking that this land should be governed under his rule._

_The Stranger plunged a sword into the Fairy Queen's back. She died with a scream that all the others heard, and the Stranger was driven away, with life barely intact._

_The Fairies gathered in their Pixie ring to mourn their queen, and to plan their revenge. It was decided that the one who could devise the most proper justice would earn the right as King._

_Two candidates were nominated, and they presented themselves to the Pixie Circle, and they forwarded their schemes of retribution…_

But this is, as they say, a story for another night…

* * *

...,...,...

It took the children a while to arrive. When they did, huffing and sweating and whining about sore feet, they found the wolf kicking and scratching and biting at the wall, howling, stalking, pressing the black manacle on his foreleg against the filmy barrier as if it were some key, as if all he needed to do was find an invisible hole.

He snapped at the children when they came near, and they huddled together for the feeling of safety. Talo snarled back with the knowledge that he wasn't alone, canines sharper and longer than a normal child's. There were no words to the boy's growling, but Link got the 'gist' of it. Prisoner. Criminal. Coward.

Rage flashed in the wolf's eyes. He roared, and the children flinched and backed away. _My sister is out there! _He fumed, _Your bloody witch is after my sister and if that hag so much as _touches _her I will rip her throat out with my teeth, wolf or no!_

Colin was shocked into silence, and when asked to translate, shook his head fearfully.

Link heaved, he was desperate, he was _mad_, but he tried to calm his panic because he had no right to be yelling at these kids but it was their witch, _their witch_ that had done this to him and now Zelda was in trouble and it _could've been avoided_!

Agitha, parasol popped above her head like a mushroom on a stick, approached him with a cheery smile and Link couldn't bring himself to tell her to _back off_. She sat in front of him, legs folded neatly beneath her, and it was with calm sincerity that she said, "Sir, there's nothing to worry about. Sheik won't hurt anybody?"

Link's grunt was suspicious.

"It's _true_," Beth cried out vehemently, fists scrunched against her sides, "Sheik wouldn't hurt just _anybody_, and the worst she _ever_ does is leave them as _frogs_, and they _deserve_ it!"

Link gave her a menacing bark. Beth went '_HUMPH_!' and turned her back on him, crossing her arms over her chest, no doubt. He turned back at Agitha and grunted again, and she shrugged dreamily back. "I think we should sit at the circle."

_Circle?_

"I don't want him there," Talo spat, regaining his bravado, "Sheik wouldn't want him there."

"I think she would," Luda interjected, scowling at him, "Like it or not he's our guest, and guests deserve proper respect. Right, Colin?"

"Uh…" he shuffled a little away from Talo before giving a minute nod.

"It's decided then," Luda nudged Beth's shoulder gently and asked, "Is that alright?"

"_Fine_," she muttered gruffly, "Then let's head back, Malo's taking _ages_ and I don't like to _wait_."

She promptly walked, Colin and Talo following close behind, throwing furtive glances over their shoulders, and Luda sighed in exasperation before gesturing to Agitha and the ginger-haired girl stood and smiled at Link, and the wolf gave the barrier a hating glare before following the children.

He realised as they walked that he had passed the village in his hurry, and his howling hadn't gone unnoticed. But the village's men, wielding pitchforks, were going a little too much to the left, to the fields away from the road he had unconsciously followed, and Link wondered why.

They met Malo, and he had his arms crossed, looking patronising. "I told them that you went that way," he was pointing his thumb in the complete opposite direction, "But they didn't believe me. Well, they heard you, so, hn." He shrugged.

"Good work, Malo," Beth huffed, "I'm glad _somebody's_ smart around here."

Link sighed and _plodded_. He had a feeling he would have to get used to this life-style _very_ quickly.

…,…,…

The children were seated in a circle in the grass outside their hut, well away from the Tree. Link eyed the unnatural thing warily, as it waved despite no wind, mocking his irrational fear of a plant.

Beth seemed to be in her element, now. She sat up prim and proper, her upper-lip stiff and business like. "_So_," she proclaimed, "_I_ think we _all_ know what Sheik would _want_ us to do,"

"Keep him by the tree where she left him?" Talo drawled, giving Link a glare that the wolf happily returned.

"No," she rebuked, though she seemed to agree, "We do our chores."

"_What_?"

"It's a fair point," Luda commented, worrying her lower lip in thought, "She hasn't told us to do anything with him, and we all know what we're supposed to do… don't we?"

_I am _right_ here_, Link growled, but they shook their heads, even Colin, to show that they hadn't understood a word he said. Link growled into his paws in frustration.

"I finished making riddles yesterday," Malo muttered, looking annoyed. "Sheik was supposed to help me divide numbers."

"I was going to look for a golden bug;" Agitha offered apologetically, "But Sheik's wearing the boots…"

Link looked at their feet. All of them were wearing crude sandals, pieces of leather with cords punched through, wound round their feet. Their clothes were threadbare at best. Shirts of unidentifiable fabric, shorts or skirts, varying in colour, and they held it all together with another thick material and cords wound round their hips and waists, most likely for warmth. All their hands were rough and blistered.

Colin raised his hand. "There'some weedin' to do?"

Talo's face twisted with distaste. "I have to scrape the fire-pit."

"By the looks of it, I think we should stick to the house." Luda concluded, "Beth and I were supposed to look through more of the stuff she brought home last time, so…"

"Malo, you help _us_, and Agitha go with Colin. _Fair_?" Beth tried to glare and look threatening, but the others seemed happy with their lot, so didn't argue. They all proceeded to stand.

"Wait," Luda pointed out, "We don't know what to do with…" she looked at Link, her dusky skin darkening in a blush. She seemed to realise she didn't know his name.

The children eyed him awkwardly, guilt and nervousness and uncertainty clear on their features. Link sighed, stood up, and trotted next to Talo and grunted. He'd seen dogs dig. He reckoned he'd be able to help Talo best, though he was highly reluctant to pair up with the defiant, smug little prick.

Talo backed away and tried to curl his lip up, but compared to before, it was a spectacular fail. "Don't come too near me."

_Right. Because your scrawny little leg's going to taste _so_ good._

They hurried into the house, eager to be busy. They skirted the tree, and Link pitied them briefly for living so close to it.

He noted his surroundings, getting a better look of it. The place was cluttered, but it seemed to be an organised chaos; the children knew exactly where they were going, and they knew exactly what they were doing. The ceiling was low; especially because of the drying pieces of herbs and plants and flowers that hung from the jutting stones of the ceiling. The floor was a haphazard mixture of rock and mud; mostly rock, but the mud had either seeped in or had been deliberately put there to support the wooden beams. He wondered how the place avoided misery in the rain.

Everything looked patched up. The table, with its knobbly wooden pegs, had an out-of-place leg supported by some decrepit books. One of the chairs was completely covered in cords to keep it intact; the hearth's makeshift chimney poked out of a hole in the wall, and the cabinets that were basically wooden frames stacked on top of another, held together by gods knew what, held cracked glass jars, broken shards of china dishes, and makeshift clay pots, all only half-full of food.

The things that were strewn across the floors seemed to be things that were non-breakable, or too heavy to lift. Giant sections of a tree, rags, stacks of leather, and large amphorae filled with gods knew what. Everything was illuminated with patches of sunlight that streamed in from the many, many windows that dotted the four walls, all of them no bigger than Link's head, nor smaller than a horse's hoof.

There was lots of clinking of stones and coin and delicate things, and Luda and Malo looked through the things crate of trinkets while Beth brought more, though Link wasn't sure what they were looking for. Colin and Agitha he couldn't see. Probably outside, wherever they were weeding.

Talo was beckoning to him from a staircase that he didn't notice, and Link climbed up it, careful where he treaded because the wood gave ominous creaks. The floor upstairs was wood as well, covered by threadbare rugs. He wondered what supported the whole place together.

The place seemed like a library and sleeping quarters. The walls here were peppered with holes too; piles of rags lined the corner between floor and wall. Stacks of books were placed like paper walls around a bed, separating them from the smaller ones, though these looked more like giant stuffed pillows that had particularly thick blankets on top. These were walled off with books as well, three on one side, three on the other.

There was a giant but shallow metal bowl, which seemed to hold a lot of ash in it. If Link could've paled, he would've.

_You keep your fire in _there_? Are you people _crazy_? What do you think would happen if the books caught a spark?_

"I dunno what you're saying." The boy muttered in reply, huffing and puffing as he dragged the giant bowl towards the stairs,

_Convenient._ Link muttered as he clamped his teeth on one of the handles of the bowl, and he gestured at Talo to grab the other. The joint effort safely got the bowl outside, and Link kicked it and turned it over and scattered the ashes inside onto the garden patch as fertiliser, which Colin yelped about when it got into his eyes and Agitha laughed.

Link dug at the earth where the weeds' roots were particularly deep and tough, so Agitha and Colin could get at them easier, while Talo scraped away at the bowl. Link looked for kindling when he had nothing to do.

Even Luda's team found things for him to do. They made him drag the boxes full of trinkets and cloths and other necessities to the table and when they were empty or full Link pushed them back where they were. When the current jobs were done and they ate their midday meal (pickled onion, a block of cheese the size of a thumbnail and a thin slice of bread) they went on to folding the piles of rags and leather on the floor and Link dragged the piles back and forth, back and forth, noting the strange wooden plugs the rags were sewn on.

It was a long, long day.

When the sun began to dip the children scurried like rats. Beth built a fire outside, and they surrounded it with bricks to warm them and she and Talo and Luda wrapped them in cloth and took them upstairs to the beds and the other three plugged up the many windows of the house with the rags sewn onto the wooden blocks to keep the cold from coming in. Once done, they waited anxiously at the bolted door, Agitha watching the purple bruised world through a slotted window big enough for a pair of eyes, while the others shuffled nervously around a lone lantern, surrounded by the oppressive dark.

Agitha blinked, twice, and grinned widely. "They're here!"

They all cheered and Link was startled aside, and the slot was closed and the edges filled with rags to again, keep the cold out, and they raced upstairs.

When Link followed them he found them huddled at another slotted window, wooden plug carelessly thrown aside, pushing and shoving and getting excited. When Link could hardly take it anymore they burst from the wall and they jumped on the biggest bed (most-likely Sheik's) and Link gawped.

Balls of light with wings arched into the pitch dark, brightening the room.

"Ding-ding-_ding_," one of them sang, "How's everybody going?"

"_Ordona_!" Another shrieked, "It's a_ wolf_!"

"Ooh," another gasped, "Is it a newbie?"

"Am I the only person here that sees it's a _wolf_?!"

"Hey, where's Sheik?"

"Where's Navi?"

"_WOLF_!"

"_Shut up Tael_!"

Link gawped. Could it be that, these… _things_, could be…?

"Everybody QUIET!"

There was an obliging pause, and the fairy spoke again, orange glow flickering as it huffed. "Alright, where's Sheik?"

"_She_ went off to look for _Navi_," Beth informed them, giving Luda a glance as she joined the circle from plugging the wall where the fairies had come in, "Because _he_ broke her flute. We _think_ Sheik went to look for her where his _sister_ might have a flute."

"Aw," a blue fairy sighed, rolling in the air petulantly, "Navi always gets all the fun."

"Ouch," a red-pink fairy added, swooping into Link's peripheral view, "Sheik got you good, didn't she?" it fluttered round his manacle, and Link hopped away warily. "Wow hey, come back I wanna look at it!"

Link hopped back snapped his teeth and the red fairy cried out 'Alle-_oop_!', back flipped and swooped back to where the others were. "Wuss puss," he grumbled.

"Leaf, be nice," a green one admonished, and Link lost count of how many there were. He followed their swirling patterns in the room, squinting at the light and shadows they threw and counted one… three… six? No, five. A red, a green, a blue, a yellow and a purple-black.

"_Anyway_," the yellow fairy cut in, swirling amongst the gathered children, "When will she be coming back?"

"Yeah, when?"

"That's actually a good point…"

"So, when? When?"

"… You guys do _know_, don't you?"

There was silence, and uneasy glances were shared. They looked at Link, who grunted and shrugged. There was no point telling them that it would take two days by carriage, if they were lucky, to get to Kakariko, and Zelda had at least half a day's head start. Walking, considering the injury Link had inflicted on the witch, would take longer.

Colin's gaze met his. Link hastily looked away, telling himself that it was the fairies' light that made him feel so uneasy.

"Sheik made Link stay't'look after'us," Colin mumbled, frowning and clenching his hands together,

"We don't _need_ look-aftering," Talo muttered sullenly, wiping his nose with his arm, "We're not _babies_."

"To us you are," the red one taunted, and the green one tackled him (the voice was a him), crying out,

"Leaf! Behave!"

Ah. So the red one was Leaf. How odd.

"Can we have our story?" the purple one whined, settling on an oblong shape that lay across one of the witch's pillows, "Cause, you know… story, you know…"

"Tael, you're such a whiner," the yellow one sighed, and Link hastily tried to remember the two fairies' names before attempting with the others, "But a story would be good. So, who's reading today?"

All the children looked at Luda and Beth. The two looked at each other and Beth sighed sullenly and admitted, "It's Luda's turn to read."

"How about we read two stories today?" Luda suggested considerately, "For all we know Sheik could be coming back any minute. One more story won't hurt our sleep, would it?"

"Okay," the purple one flew from the book (what else could it be?) before settling with the yellow fairy in the middle of the circle the children made, followed by the other three fairies. Beth primly sat herself up, her back straight, looking mighty pleased with herself as she ruffled through the pages.

"Eh-hem," she coughed into her hand, "Now, this is a fairytale about a poor, meek girl who loses and finds a place to call home."

There were a few wry/knowing grins shared, as if this was a joke that they'd heard far too many times.

"Once upon a time," Beth began, not even reading off the pages, "There was a very rich Lord and three very pretty daughters. One-_don't laugh_!"

Talo was laughing, and his brother and Colin shushed him, aided by Luda's glare. Red-faced and indignant, Beth continued: "One day, the Lord had to decide…"

The night continued like so. It seemed staying up late was a treat in itself, because all the children were complaining at the end of each story and trying to make excuses to prolong the story telling. But time and tiredness eventually won out, and the children stumbled back to their beds, aided by the fairies' lights, and Link's manacle heated up and tugged and tugged at his foreleg, and Link was forced down the stairs, out the door (Agitha let him out) and the chain coiled and grew and wrapped itself round the trunk of the Tree thrice.

Link sighed a growling sigh, settling himself in the grass. Something swathed him and he gave a start, and it was Agitha, wrapped in a blanket of her own while she tucked a prickly cloth over his shoulders. There was a strange sense of finality to her words.

"You'll like it here. You will. We do, very much."

…,…,…

Link slept in. So did everybody else, but finding Sheik _not there_ when they came down for breakfast, the children were beginning to be nervous. They picked at their bread, spread with honey, and scraped the iron pot for the last of their stew.

The talking began, slowly degenerating in productiveness. And rose in noise.

What should they do? Should they look for her? But there was feet to worry about, and injuries and infections and animals and the adults in Ordon, and even if they did head out there was no food except for the honey and some dried fruit, and they didn't have firewood stocked up and Sheik was going to kill them if they handled the axe without permission and they were sure to get hurt and tear what was left of their clothes to rags and they were hungry they were _always_ hungry and the laundry was piled up but they _knew_ Sheik never let them near the springs, well what did they _want_ them to do and wait a minute why were they asking _them_, _they _weren't the leader well what do they _want_ them to do, they weren't the leader either! Sheik was! They were the eldest! They'd been there longest! They didn't know what was going on here yet oh would you just _calm down_ SHUT UP they never say anything useful oh and what they're no different _WOULD EVERY BODY JUST-_!

Link's new ears made the noise worse, far, far, worse, and the ire was turning to anger and then rage and now-

He let out a roar that ripped the air in the hut in two and silenced the children with shock.

The wild animal blinked. Had he really…?

Talo was the first to blurt out, "He _talked_!"

Beth's mouth hung in outrage. "But that's never _happened_ before!"

"Try it again," Luda suggested, frowning.

Link opened his mouth, coughed, tried to form words, but all that came out was a growling, rasping whine.

The children looked immensely disappointed.

"I… I _think_ we should go outside," Beth stood from her chair, looking uneasy, "You _know_, sit at the Circle. _Sheik_ might see us, and we're _sure_ to get something done out there, _right_?"

The group congregated, and Link reluctantly followed. The children settled in their circle, hopefully gazing at the surrounding trees before the silence was broken.

"So… what're we do now?" Colin asked, bringing them back to the previous dilemma. "D'we beg at th'village? Cuz I've dunnit a'fore, an' it works, sumtimes…"

"I've got a list," Malo grunted, scraping words into the grass with a nail, "We need food, and more blankets. We got some money left, but not enough to buy out of Ordon's market. And trading trinkets too. If Sheik were here…"

"She _would've_ told us to get the stuff we sorted _yesterday_ and sell them for _useful_ things." Beth grouched, crossing her arms, "But she's not _here_ to charm us a _horse_."

It was a sigh full of relief that escaped Link's muzzle, because his horse had been the one pulling Zelda and his fathers' carriage, and there was not a creature left at his house that could drag so much as a crate on wheels.

But what if Sheik caught hold of his sister mid-journey, and both Zelda and Epona were somehow _forced_ to do her bidding? Link shuddered as he thought it.

"Can't we use _him_?" Talo pointed out, gesturing at the wolf, "He's practically big as a pony, and we can carry the other stuff on our own, right?"

"But we'll have to make something for him to hold our things with, and that'll take a while," Agitha pointed out, "And we'll be really hungry by then."

There was a morose silence.

"Well, what're'bout'is house?" Colin tentatively enquired, eye darting from the wolf to the Circle, "Bet there'some food there. An tools t'make a cart for'im."

Agitha gave a delighted clap. "Problem solved!"

"Will you lead us there?" Malo asked the wolf, sounding extremely doubtful.

Link sighed and stood, shaking out his fur. Well, he didn't have much of a choice, did he? Colin was giving him the 'you-owe-me' look, Beth was giving him the 'you're-the-reason-why-we-don't-_have _-a-guardian' glare and the rest were just looked too hopeful to disappoint. He blamed the story-telling as well; that had endeared the children to him.

They traced their steps back to his house, and whatever left in the pantry was devoured. They found enough material to make a cart, and the task of making it was left to Talo while the others raced back through the woods to get the money and trinkets. Link was surprised at how well the kid worked; must've been a carpenter's son before living with the witch.

How did these kids get here anyway?

Link wasn't given time to ponder it as he was harnessed and strapped to the cart. They headed for Faron, where things were a tad cheaper. The trip was relatively normal.

Well, except for the bandit attack…

* * *

I **admit with shame that this was an extremely boring chapter in the sense of action. Probably great for charatcer and setting development, but that's about it. And there you thought the action was non-existent in the last one... **

**I just don't want to rush things, and I, for a second, had no idea where this was headed (probably something I should be admiting to so early in the story...). I know what I want, I just didn't know how to get it there. NOW I know. I mean, I even have the plot all sorted out! So i hope you forgive me and look forward to the next chapter.**

**See, there was even a cliffy thing going on to keep you hopeful!**

**So... review? "puppy eyes". **


	4. The Beast and Beauty

**Heyas people, sorry for the late update, but in my defence, MOST OF YOU DON'T EVEN FREAKIN' REVIEW! Honestly, there are like, six of you who have me on alerts and more on favs. Or the other way around. Either way. Gosh. Meanies. (-3-)**

**But aside from that, thank you for reading! I just... would like some feedback, you know? (wibble eyes)**

**Anyway, have fun reading.**

* * *

_**The Beast and Beauty**_

_Once upon a time, there was Kingdom ruled by a Sorceress that dabbled in all manners of magic. She was an unhappy ruler, for her most prized possession had been spirited away by her evil attendants._

_Diligently she worked through her magic texts and by the light of sun and moon and lightning, was able to bend spirits to her will, call the dead to her aid, make the fires dance, to guide water where she pleased. But she could not conquer the Forests nor Time that kept the Treasure forever cloaked in secrecy and day by day destroyed her chances at recovering it from obscurity._

_So desperate was she to regain her Treasure she hired mercenaries and troops to search for men of suspicious occupation, for women who had strange powers, for animals of divine and hellish nature, and they were brought to her without delay. She stole the secrets of the men and women and in turn offered their bodies and souls to gain alliances or pardon from the creatures she summoned. She told her people that these men and women were lawless (which inevitably was true) and had deserved such grisly and bloody ends. _

_In such a way the Sorceress stooped into Dark Magic, and uncovered things best left alone, and one of them were the Exiled._

But that is, as they say, in the past…

* * *

It was when they were coming back that things had gone… insane.

The children had worried at first about harnessing Link to their makeshift but surprisingly sturdy cart, but the manacle around Link's leg had solved their problem. It'd clinked and widened and slithered round his torso, until it was connected to the vehicle and properly secure. Link held back a growl, in case the chain felt a muzzle was necessary.

They went, they bought, they sold. Many times some rich-looking merchants had wandered in their direction to ask the price of the wolf with the twilight-shade furs, and when they didn't go away at the children's refusal, Link usually growled them away.

Though they left a note on the door to their hut they wanted to be home before dark, in case Sheik came back. So as soon as they were done they tied their pouch of rupees to Link's neck (reasoning nobody would dare steal it off a wolfish-dog), stacked anything unbreakable or relatively light on his cart and carried the rest for themselves before heading back home.

Link was impressed. Malo and Talo knew their wares and how to sell them; Luda and Beth knew things about jewellery's worth and condition that was incredibly unnatural for children. Agitha and Colin came back from the markets with surprisingly good food stuffs; brown bread, half-ripe fruit, a skinny (live) chicken.

Maybe the witch wasn't so bad…

Gah, he shouldn't be thinking this, he was dragging their purchases like… like a _mule_, for Furore's sake. Just because these kids were _nice_ it didn't mean they were _good_. For all he knew, the witch had planned this so she could endear herself to him through them.

Right. So she'd planned getting bitten by him too.

They were in a lonely patch of woodland, and they were understandably uneasy. The place was usually full with bandits, and the children were easy prey, even with a giant wolf-dog chained to their cart. But they hadn't encountered anything on the way, so Link was hoping optimistically/unrealistically that nothing would bother them. Then Beth came to an abrupt halt; so did everybody else. Her expression turned to panic and Link was suddenly surrounded by the children in a circle.

"How many?" Talo growled, thoroughly confusing the wolf.

Beth's eyes were wide, and her breath was quick and shallow. "Three, maybe five."

Luda hissed, licking her lips. Colin fidgeted. Agitha blinked at the wolf, wondering out loud, "Maybe we should let him go?"

"_Better_ idea," Beth quipped, "_Run_!"

The children scrambled. Link didn't know _what_ was going on, but decided it best to follow, though their running was basically his trotting. The expression on Beth's face was almost animalistic, like a bird ready for flight, being chased down by some… oh.

_Bandits_, Link thought, _great_.

The situation proved to be just as dangerous as Link suspected when three men emerged onto the road from the trees, their faces covered in rags and their hands holding makeshift clubs. The children turned around, and behind them stood another four men, looking just as threatening as their buddies.

Link growled as the children grabbed things from the road, pebbles and clots of dried mud and twigs and shells of nuts. The adults obviously laughed.

"Where's your mummy and daddy, eh? Feeling lost? Ain't that heavy for ya?"

The wolf's hackles rose. The chain slithered and clunked, releasing him from the cart as he stalked forward, growls rolling his throat. The leader gestured to those at the back, and they strode forward, patting their clubs against open palms. The leader continued his false reassurances, trying to distract them from the obvious display of weapons. "We'll lead you back to Faron if you'll follow us, now, we won't hurt ya at all. You can trust us."

Malo stamped on Talo's foot, silencing his elder brother's angry insults, replying in a diplomatic tone and manner. Link wasn't listening, as Luda was tugging him frantically back onto the cart.

"Beth," Agitha pleaded in a desperate whisper, "Let me call Skulkid, please,"

Her face was wide and jumpy and calculating. "We might need him for next year,"

"We might not even _have_ a next year. Mr. Wolf can't take them on his own. We're far enough away from Ordon, please, Beth, we have to!"

The bandits loomed. Closer. Closer. Sneering. Beth scrunched her fists and seemed to swallow down her fear. "Call him."

Link's muscles coiled tighter, reacting instinctively to the children's eagerness to _flee_. They were huddled to the cart. They were ready to go at the slightest signal, and Link would be ready for that signal.

Agitha grabbed her parasol, ripped off the top and handle, transforming it into a long, wooden trumpet, and blew.

The single note rang true. The bandits paused, looking around in case of reinforcements, and laughing at themselves they marched on the defenceless group once more.

There was a giggle.

Violent rustling in the trees. Another giggle, which evolved into a cackle, and a figure dropped from the trees, all a knot of skinny and bent joints, covered in crinkly pieces of flora in shades of green and auburn. When it lifted its head, covered by a wide orange straw hat, its face was a mixture of darkness and pieces of roots. Two small flints of coal glowed in exchange for eyes, and a wide, jagged smile split its face in two.

It cocked its demented head to the side. "Play?"

Agitha nodded, face white. "Tag team. The biguns touch us, we lose. You make them go away, you win, and you have your trumpet back."

The creature chattered a laugh in glee, and snatched the trumpet from Agitha. "Play, play, play!"

The bandits realised through their shock that something they wouldn't like at all was going to happen. "_Get them_!"

Skulkid blew his trumpet. The wind swirled as the bandits approached, the dust rose, the twigs danced and there was clattering cackling chatters of dead trees that heralded the dropping of rattling bodies that jerked to life at the Skulkid's delirious tune, clothed like him, but taller, heavier, stronger, puppets the size and a half of a grown man; their elbows jerked into funny positions. Their feet didn't touch the ground. When they wrenched their heads facing forward their smiles were demented, and their eyes glowed a sick yellow.

The nightmare puppets glided towards the enemies, their heads violently cocking left, right, left, right, sneering, jeering, leering.

They bolted as the bandits screamed.

Link heart jack-hammered with terror as the screams of the bandits grew more violent and painful; his body screamed at him to run like lightning but his mind forced himself to slow for the shorter and easily tired legs of the kids. He needed to _run_ he needed to use this adrenaline before he went mad with the urge to lunge and bite and _move_, the chains round his muzzle and body constricting like poisonous ivy, shackling him to the slow, cumbersome cart.

Talo cried out from the back, "One's cut loose!"

The children turned around to look and screamed. This bandit was big and burly and had a bleeding gash in his forehead and a massive club and net in his hands and he was barrelling towards them screaming bloody murder and his eyes were crazily wide and angry and frightened and Colin was frozen to the spot like a doe caught in the lights of a speeding carriage in the night.

"_Colin_!"

The chains broke away and Link lunged and rammed his body against the bull of a man and toppled him like a tower of bricks. "Run, idiot! Get back, take the cart, _go_! I'll hold them!"

Link didn't even realise he'd spoken again, despite being in the wolf form. All he knew was that instinct was telling him to _fight_ for his pack, because he was the alpha, he was strongest, fastest, oldest, and the most experienced.

And the most _pissed off_.

The rest of the bandits had broken the puppets into twitching pieces of limbs and they were shaken, shaken to the core with the horror of the strange entities and the trumpet bearing fairy. But Skulkid was gone, and the forest was quiet save their cursing.

"Those k-kids," one of them whimpered, "They're not worth it Dan, they're not worth it. Let's go check another road, I never want to be here again-"

"Quiet!" the leader, probably Dan, stepped forward and eyed the growling wolf with a calculating smile, prompting Link to curl his gums and reveal his sharp, clean teeth.

"We'll take him instead then."

"But Dan!"

"You fool! Didn't you hear him _speak_? And get up Hans, he only knocked you over," he added snidely to the bullish man that Link had tackled. "We bag him, and take him to the castle; want to bet how much the priests would pay for the devil?"

Link's mind flared with rage, taking his humanity to boiling point. "You touchme, I tear your face."

The bandit replaced his club for a sword tucked under his coat. His minions hesitantly followed suit. "Try it, Wolf-boy."

The humanity in his mind turned to steam.

…,…,…

"And stay lost!" Link barked, blood dripping from his teeth, sickeningly sweet, salty and luke-warm. The wolf prowled the road as the bandits ran with flapping, dripping arms, or limped away on legs that had been shattered by the power of his jaw. The alpha made sure the enemy was in firm, cowardly retreat. Then he circled and trotted towards the kids, keeping his nose to the ground.

Even in daylight the colouring of his sight was odd. He couldn't see certain hues, and though he could see what was in front of him amazingly well, a few paces forward were a dud. The mixture of sharp and blurry detail coupled with near-monochrome shading would've impeded him enormously if it weren't for his sense of smell.

The smell was like colour, and all he had to do was follow the trail of dusty red and creamy white, emerald green and flecks of the things they bought. The wolf, with his long stride and fast legs, caught up with them quickly. They were hiding in a bunch of bushes at the edges of the wood, and Link didn't follow them in because he could sense their worried nerves.

"Hey," Link called out, rubbing his muzzle with his paw, distastefully wiping blood onto the grass, "They're gone. Come out now."

"Yay!" Agitha burst out from the branches and hugged the wolf round the neck tightly, choking him. "Thank you Mr. Wolf!"

"_Agitha_!"

"My name's Link, you know," Link managed to choke out before the girl let him go and began petting his head. "Hey. Stop that, I'm not a pet."

"Agitha!" Luda screeched from behind a snarling Talo, "Get back here! He might hurt you!"

Link nearly snapped at her for that. Hadn't she _seen_ him help Colin? Hadn't he protected them from those thugs? But he told himself there wasn't much help for her and her friends' fears; he'd seen a rabid dog before, and that memory still freaked him out. He didn't like to think what a wild rabid wolf would look like.

"I won't. The chain's still here." Link lifted the appropriate anatomy and it gave a jingle. The wolf looked at it and sighed again. "Won't let me anyway."

Link frowned. He wanted to form longer sentences, but his throat couldn't take the strain.

"How can you _speak_?" It was Beth's voice, both frightened and outraged.

Link snorted, and then coughed and sneezed because a canine nose _shouldn't_ do that. "H-How should I know?" he coughed, sniffling at his aching nose, "Practice? Sheik's magic's weaker cause she's far away? Maybe I'm getting used to it." Link froze at the thought, unconsciously giving his throat time to heal. "Furore… not a nice thought."

"…Why?" Colin timidly asked, looking genuinely interested.

"I can't scratch an itch right."

He earned a worried giggle from the boy for that. Malo shoved him and whispered something into his ear, and Colin paled and whispered something back at him. Then the others got involved, and Link gave a tired sigh and waited as they convened.

…,…,…

One Week Later…

…,…,…

Link huffed and gestured at the door distastefully, and Malo opened it with a similar noise.

They had fallen into a routine, and it was one Link decided at the end of the first day since returning from the Faron Market that it was a routine that he didn't enjoy. Colin had been forced by Talo to reveal the fact that Link had bitten Sheik, a fact he'd known since the smug little prick of a brunette's hearing was better than the blonde's.

The only reason they hadn't gone to pandemonium and lynched the wolf was because Agitha was blocking the way. He had no idea why, but if she thought somebody was nice, the others were obliged to agree. Luda, it seemed, was their lie-detector; everybody grew sullen when he insisted that he'd been provoked and the dark-skinned girl couldn't argue with it.

Link slumped through and dumped himself on the front step, the chain growing new rings that slithered to the base of the skeletal tree. The rest was history. The group generally avoided him at all costs. He wasn't allowed inside the cottage unless he wanted to eat or he was supposed to help with sorting things out. When they argued at their 'Pixie Ring' Link called out suggestions, and after ignoring it for a few minutes and trying to think up their own solution, they pretend they thought it up themselves and do what Link said.

He also prevented fights, but that wasn't that impressive.

He heard the creak of the door closing and a dull thud as something jammed itself violently in its path.

Link looked up and Beth was standing as tense as a bird ready for flight, Malo glaring at her from the ground where he'd been shoved over.

"Someone's here."

Link squinted into the trees, doubtful.

"I'll get Agitha," Malo muttered, walking faster than he usually did. Link shuffled his paws, looking at the girl, then the trees, and then the sky, and then back at the forest. He could tell Beth was nervous; but he didn't see how it could be warranted, this sudden fear, because his canine ears and eyes and nose hadn't picked up any-

He was wrong. The wind changed. He smelt something.

Link bared his teeth at the foreign smell, stalking into the clearing with growls rolling his throat. The chain accommodated its length to his need, and Link could now see the moonlight sharpening the blades of grass, dulling the dead leaves, plunging the forest in shadow while it beat down at the worried children that gathered at the door, not daring to follow their temporary guardian into the open.

Minutes passed, but nothing happened.

"Go back inside," Link growled, turning back to the cottage, choosing his words carefully. "Lock the door. Maybe people out there. Maybe not. I'll keep watch, in case."

The children obediently withdrew. The one thing they _did_ trust him about was his ability to fight off the enemy. Link propped himself against the door and lay down, watching the trees. He could smell them. He didn't know who _they_ were, but they were there, and in small numbers. He hoped it wasn't anything that could be considered _magic_, because he'd had enough of that already with this hut, and if it was, he knew that he would be _extremely_ lucky if it was something friendly, much less harmless.

After an hour or two, he doubted himself. After another half-hour, his ears caught something. He stood, listening. A song. A girl's voice.

"_Gilded Birds,  
__Soaring wings,  
__Trill a tune through Wind and hail.  
__At the dusk,  
__Someone sings,  
__Once, upon, a Fairytale_…"

A figure suddenly swirled into the moonlight, dancing to a silent tune, her arms lazily arching above her head as she languidly twirled, the cloak trailing her like a veil. She had a lovely voice. It drifted in the night like a child of a muse, the notes sweeping higher.

"_Queens speak spells of beauty born,  
__Towers mighty pierce the morn  
__Beasts and man play hand-in-hand,  
__While Fay reshape the land…_"

She seemed to catch sight of him mid-turn, and the song died. Then she laughed and strode over, throwing the hood of her cloak over her head. Her head burst in moonlight; every single strand of hair on her head was white as snow.

"Sheik!"

"Sheik you're back!"

"Hey, where's Navi?"

"Aw, is she _still_ having all the fun?"

"Are you alright? How're things? Anything interesting happen?"

The fairies from the nights before appeared out of virtually nowhere and swirled and jittered and yelped around the figure, as the girl (what else could she be?) laughed and spoke to them and reassured them, and sent them off into the crooked hut. In the moonlight her lips seemed full, her face youthful. She practically skipped to where he hunkered down on his belly, ready to back away or leap at her at any given moment.

He couldn't tell much of her colouring; his wolf's eyes saw things in very few shades, and this night was mostly in silvers and navy blues. But he knew for a fact that this girl was devastatingly beautiful, and he would've been smitten without a second thought. The mind of a hound protected him from _that_ problem, however.

She crouched in front of him, a snicker shaking her frame. "Hello Wolfboy. You have a charming sister."

Link growled. She chuckled again, a noise that resembled heavenly bells. "No need to worry, she's perfectly fine. No injuries. No damage. I even left her pretty face alone; she resembles no animal whatsoever. Not like you."

She stood and spun in the night, humming the tune, gloriously throwing her arms to the side. "Your bite hurt, by the way. Very much so. Nothing some fairy magic couldn't fix, but oh, the scars take so long to fade… But judging from my siblings' delight, you seem to have done my familiars some good, so…"

She tapped her chin thoughtfully, and a cruel smile ripped her face in two. "You stay that way for a year. Then I let you go."

Link rose from his hunkered position, snapping his teeth as he exclaimed, "_Hell_ no!"

She gave a gasp as she backed away, holding her face between her hands. "No! No? No, no, no…" she crept towards him, cocking her head to the side. "Did you just _speak_?"

Link's muzzled wrinkled. "Yes. I. did."

"_Fascinating_. Interesting. I wonder if any of the others… oh, no, now that I think about it, I _kept_ a few of you for more than a few months, and _they_ never talked. Hah, how strange…" She lunged forward, tapped his nose and lunged back before he could react. She faked doing it again, making him snap and allowing herself to laugh.

"Oh you _are_ a fascinating creature." Her voice was a caress. He shuddered as his muscles relaxed against his will, his legs collapsing under the weight of his own body, not even a second passing before a hand stroked the fur on his back. He gave a half-hearted growl that the fairy shushed to silence.

Her snicker gave him an image of a sneering mouth with a fang. Angry fire boiled his chest and he fought her magic, willing himself to turn his head and snap her hand off.

"My, my," she purred, subduing him again, "You've made the magic your own. Silly, silly wolfboy, at this rate I wouldn't be _able_ to change you if I'd wanted to. You'll have to figure it out yourself."

She patted him on the head, dumping a heavy sense of tire and sleep on his mind. Link's eyes rolled in his skull as he collapsed on the door mat, right on time for the kids to come squealing down the stairs, unlock the door and pull their fairy godmother into the house, begging her to tell them a story where had she _been_ was she alright they'd been so good, couldn't they tell her what they'd done, oh please, please, they'd ever been so good, hadn't they?

…,…,…

Groggily the morning intruded in his dull and slightly disturbing dreams, and Link woke up to the smell of cooking.

Cooking. Fire. Thank the goddesses, the kids had been sighing over warm food (therefore Sheik) extremely accusingly over the week, and annoyance had replaced the guilt fairly quickly for the wolf.

His own stomach rumbled. He would've liked to be fed too, but he supposed he would have to wait till the scraps were deemed inedible or something before it was given to him. He should probably think up a way to escape now that the witch had come back…

Link frowned, reassessing his views on Sheik. Maybe she wasn't a witch. He knew of a few existing, but he was pretty sure that they couldn't do what Sheik could. Sure, light fires, heal wounds, find places and lost things. But could they really turn themselves into demons? Turn others into animals? Maybe… Link shuddered. She was like that Skulkid. Something not quite _right_.

Something worse than a witch.

He yelped in surprise when the many locks and bolts on the door opened in succession. When he looked round it was Talo that held the door open, openly _glaring_ at the wolf as he stiffly stood aside and let the canine in. Link warily padded into the hut, careful about his tail as Talo slammed the door shut.

"I hear that there's been some animosity between you all."

Link focused on the back faced to him, the tallest one there was, wearing a ragged tunic that seemed to be half wool, half tree, with bits of dry, curling leaves sticking out of the outfit here and there. The pitiful excuses for trousers were bits of leather wrapped around her legs. The feet were bare and noticeably callused. The skin was the shade of lively tree and soft dirt and golden mahogany.

"Sheik, what's amnesty?"

"Animosity is a fancy word for 'not liking each other', Malo. And eat the egg-plant."

"Hmf," he muttered, absently poking it with his fork with a look of distaste.

"Anyway, I'd like you all to apologise to each other. Kids, for treating him bad, and wolfboy for scaring them to the extent that they think it necessary."

Link sat on the floor and scratched his ear with his hind leg. A habit he'd been fighting till day three. "I apologised at the road. Did they tell you?"

"About how they had to use Skulkid, yes. But I don't think they used him on you, or you'd be dead by now. By my chains, if I may add."

"Thought so," Link hummed, gnawing at the anklet, "Got that impression."

She laughed as she fiddled with the skillet, throwing something into the pot boiling over the fire in the corner without really looking at it. Her hair really was astonishingly white, like a crone, or moonlight spindled into being. She still had her back to him, cutting something.

"You really are a smart creature. But none of that. Will you all apologise, or no?"

"I've apologised. For frightening them, causing them trouble. One thing I haven't apologised for is your neck. And I'm sorry. I know the fairy's important now. _You're_ important to these guys too."

"Shoulder," she corrected offhandedly as Talo gave an audible growl and a few of the children glared at him. "But I suppose I frightened you enough myself, and for no reason. So I'm sorry as well."

She turned. Link backed away.

She was gorgeous. There was no denying it. Her lips were tantalisingly full, her nose a delicate point, sloping impish cheekbones slid under her healthy flawless skin, and her eyes were wide, sparkling; round and sharp at the same time, contrasting and emphasising her soft but wild figure. Even in rags, she was shapely, lovely.

Yet she was a monster.

Her lips were black, and her tongue looked impossibly pink as she licked them, proving that the inky hue was natural. When she grinned her whole face became dangerously delighted and feral, one side tilting further up than the other.

What drew his attention most, however, were her mismatched eyes. One eye was as normal as an eye could get, except it was the colour of sunsets and tulips and rubies and autumn leaves, a red so extraordinary that it seemed to glow in its brilliance.

The other eye was evil. He didn't how else to describe it. There was no visible white, iris or pupil. It was just _flatly _dark, dark red, and nothing else, like a pool of dried blood.

She knelt down and set a plate of sizzling meat in front of him, grinning at him like a hyena. "Oh," she added, as the others snickered "Apology accepted."

* * *

**Soooo, to the review replies!**

**_Lady Alamantia_: Yay for cliffies! I just hope the credit I put to that cliffy is worth it, lol. That is a good point, on the furniture bit. There's a reason, I swear. It'll take a few more chapters for it to be explained, though. Haha... yeah... Good on you! XD How far have you gone? I'mpersonally up to the water temple, and OH MY FREAKING GOD all water-temples, I swear, were designed by the one, sadistic and frustrated bastard. You will be so annoyed there, I swear to you. **

**_Teriyaki Chicken_: Love the name by the way. XD Thanks so much for your compliments, I do try. Zelda SHOULD be okay. In fact, you find out in this very same chapter, so hope you don't get dissappointed! The fairies are real, if you're asking if they come from games. A few are from windwaker, I think. There's Navi from OOT, and the other two are from Majora's Mask. But they're really not that important, so... meh.**

**If you're wondering how the tune of the song goes, It's 'Anastacia's _Once upon a December_. Guess where I got the title of this fic from ! XD**

**Please review... (T_T)**


	5. The Charmed

**I would like to apologise for this slow update, and I have a very good reason why it was slow. **

**You see, I had this SYSTEM. I write like, one, one and a half chapters ahead, so I have the next chapter ready to upload, whilst I have the other one done or very well close to it. I even have extract of even further ahead chapters, so i can piece them together nicely later. When the plot bunny bites, I make sure i put it down on the computer before the nice writing dies down, you know?**

**I had a USB stick that I fondly dubbed Deku Stick. I have officially renamed it _BITCH STICK_.**

**IT CORRUPTED MY FILES.**

**I lost half of this chapter, chapter 6 and a eighty percent finished chapter 7, lost another one and a half extracts, so in total, lost like freaking THIRTY PAGES OF SOLID HARD WORK.**

**_GAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGH!_**

**So yeah, wasn't in the greatest moods to write...**

**But I've done it, and it's mostly the same, i've probably done it better and simpler, so, yeah, Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

_**Charmed**_

Once upon a time there was a tower high as half the heavens, and it could withstand all powers of the weather, for no wind, rain, hail, or the beat of the sun could topple it. It was a place of great importance, for the Kings owned it.

Once it was used to honour the Gods; but as the Kings grew lax in their duties, less and less sacrifices were handed to the altar, and the gods grew angry. The Tower was forsaken, and they left the place cursed in remembrance of the fickleness of humanity. Those who approached were brought down with sickness and fear, and only the good hearted lay safe from the curse of the Gods.

The Kings were angry, so far gone in their arrogance were they, and took no effort to appease the Heavens. To spite the gods they sent prisoners of war, criminals and frauds and slaves too old or crippled to work to the tower as their place of death, in a mockery of the once glorious divine offerings.

Many a year passed since, and the place grew fouler and fouler, until twilight seemed to dwell in the air and unhappiness ooze from the earth, and that was how the Three Goddesses found it, when they descended from the Sky.

_But that is, as they say, totally make-belief_…

* * *

The routine was much the same, only friendlier and perhaps more comfortable. He still had to sleep outside as a sentry, but he got a blanket to lie on top of, and he listened to Sheik tell stories to the children from a giant tome that had been left lying on her bed before he went outside. The kids were less hostile (mostly because of Sheik) and as for the goddess-knew-what-kind-of-creature-she-was… She was confusing, to say the least.

She was proud of what she was, and yet she was extremely secretive about it. She covered her evil eye with most of her fringe; even her familiars were afraid of it. She claimed she had great magic, yet when things needed to be fixed she did it with her bare hands. She could fly. Well, not _fly, _fly, float, really. But she walked most of the time, on her bare feet. She teased, she scolded, she was kind, and she was spiteful. She taught them to read and write in the morning, sent them to work after midday and got them preparing for the next day and sleep by sundown.

Link wasn't surprised at how willingly the kids worked for their Sheik, no matter how devilish her verbal or magic teasing was, or stern her reprimands could be; she oozed 'sister' from a mile away, and she provided them with what they needed.

Food. Shelter. Warmth. _Love_.

Something Link was feeling deprived of at that point.

One night Sheik was trying to sneak back into the hut in the middle of the night and Link caught her; in his defence, he'd thought that she was an intruder.

He whimpered at the muzzle that constricted his jaw and the burning ache of the chains tightening round his ribcage. He curled into a ball on his side as Sheik cursed and made the chains loosen. "What was that about, wolfboy?"

"My _name_," Link spat, painful growls roiling his tone, "Is _Link_. I thought you were a bandit."

"Bandit? Ha," she lithely rose from her crouch, a position she'd adopted to dodge under Link's flying lunge. She loosened the hood over her head and the bandages around her face, and her words were no longer muffled, "There's nothing of interest to them here. No travellers, no wild beast worth eating or selling, and even if they came near, Beth would know. _I_ would know."

"There's me," he whispered hoarsely, making the fairy pause contemplatively.

"How so?"

"Spoke in front of them," he weakly shifted aside and tried to stand, but the slithering, retracting chains tripped him. He groaned as he collapsed. "Priests might get them money. Enough to risk getting their bones crushed."

She chuckled, raking her fingers gently through his grey fur, "Silly mortal, if you hurt them as badly as you imply, they wouldn't have the energy or the spirit to come back. And what's this about crushing bones?"

He wriggled and avoided her touch, snapping irritably at her fingertips. "I bit them. Till they broke like twigs."

"Is that a threat?" her grin was pure evil. Link shuddered and paced away, never letting his eyes off her. The hostility they usually muted flared; Link circled her. She let him.

"Why outside? Thought you sleep with the kids."

"What I do is not your business." She stretched, raising her arms up above her head. Link's ears caught a soft, velvet sound. The wind changed, and he smelt it.

"You're bleeding."

She laughed. "Fairies don't bleed, dear."

"I smell blood off you."

"Probably the soldiers then," she hummed, flexing fingers in the moonlight, gleaming sharp in the dark, "You're not the only one with teeth. Or claws."

"I bit you. I can smell it."

"You're not that great, dear," she snapped, idly slashing her hand in the air, making shadows leap at him with cheeky, hungry faces. Link yelped and tore at them before they could do the same to him. "I, however, _am_ great. You should respect my wishes and do as I say for a year, as previously agreed upon when we first parted ways."

Link growled at her, finished with her shadow-minions. His voice was low, threatening. His teeth gleamed in the night. "You _dragged_ me here! For no _reason_! By right you should let me go; change me back!"

She laughed at him, throwing back her head and letting her hair cascade under the moonlight. "Rights? What rights? Mortal laws can't convict me, nor can their petty ethics. Ethics gets you killed."

"The midgets don't count as ethics?"

"It's an obligation," she shouldered the bulky bag that'd reminded him of burglars and kidnappers as she scoffed, "They enter my territory, I rein them in so they know to respect it, and learn how to live in it. What you think of it is not my concern. It's also a trade, or a debt. Fairies work only by debt."

"They care about you!" Link spat, anger roiling his tone. He knew somewhere along the lines that this conversation wasn't supposed to go this way, but somehow it had, and how _dare_ she treat those kids like pawns.

"And I them," she shrugged, "So?"

Now he was confused. His wolf-brain couldn't keep up with her conception of an argument, and she sounded so offhandedly sincere he couldn't follow up with his anger. So he lunged, got into her way, and growled up at her face. Back to square one. "Then let me go. They don't like me. I'm just in the way. I have no debt."

"Of course you do," she smiled patting the top of his head, only keeping her fingers because the chain slithered round his muzzle, "You bit me. It hurt. It took a lot of magic to heal it, and my protective hexes are down. You'll be a fine substitute for now, wolfboy."

"Change. Me. Back."

"Alas, I can't, even if I had the magic." She grinned that feral smile, lifted her face to look down on him, light that had nothing to do with the stars and the moon flashing in her red, mismatched eyes, "You made it your own. That's how you speak. I said so before, didn't I? You somehow tampered with my spell, and if I do anything more you're stuck, my silly mortal, stuck forever as a four-legged hunter."

He gaped at her, and was so dumbfounded that he let her walk around him and into the house, not even seeing how she glanced back at him to blow him a kiss before closing the door.

Link thumped onto the grass, feeling utterly defeated.

…,…,…

Link was left sitting on the 'porch' whilst the fairy family (what else could he call it?) went away to do goddesses knew what. To learn about herbs, maybe? Even if _she_ was some phantom of magic, the kids were still Hylian… weren't they?

Well, Link sure doubted he'd be Hylian at all, ever.

He sighed and miserably, buried his head under his paws. He didn't _know_ any magic! How could he have made this transformation as his own, as Sheik put it? She _must_ be lying; she had to be. Gods-damnit he wanted his normal life back, even if it was a lonely one living in that cottage with nothing but the occasional walk into Ordon and the monthly visit he got from the supplier from the overseas estate.

Speaking of…

Link perked up and scratched a message onto the porch: _BE BACK SOON_.

She'd said the protective hexes were down. So he could get out, theoretically. Go back to his house. Look for something to eat, something to do, a plan, any plan. He remembered their nurse, remembered how Fanadi always had strange patterns across her skin that she hid from father but always slyly shown him and Zelda when they still believed every single word of her fairytales. He suspected now that she _could've_ been a witch. It was a _possibility_. Heck, he'd read her book of tales the night he'd been dragged here; maybe he'd find something in it.

He got lost a couple of times, but the ribbons of smell from the village eventually led him to his house. He kicked the door open, and shuffled inside. Now, all he had to do was look for… his face dropped. He shouldn't have let the kids raid this place; it was a war-zone. Papers scattered, clothes left in hazardous piles, ink was splattered across a gloomily large area, and other paraphernalia were scattered all over the floor. It was almost surprising to see that the walls were free of protruding objects.

Sighing, the wolf got to work.

…,…,…

Bringing the book back was a bigger mission than finding it. And he'd found just the one he needed and wanted, a series of messily written notes about spells and whatnot. It irked him somewhat when he realised that their nurse could've easily messed with their minds and turned them into magical apprentices or something, but yeah… he decided not to think about it too much.

The problem was, when he grabbed it in his jaw, he slobbered. So he had to tilt his face up and walk. So he tripped. He dropped the book. Grabbed it again, and the process repeated way, way, way too often. Gods it was annoying.

But he did it. He got back to the witch's cottage, and he set it by his sentry point and he was satisfied.

"Hey!"

Link scowled. His satisfaction dissipated as Talo turned the corner, a twig in his brown hair. He growled. "Why'd you come back?"

"Said I would," Link muttered, gesturing with his head, "Leave me alone."

"You should've stayed away," Talo spat, fists curled by his side, "We don't want you."

"I want to change back," Link stood and snarled down at the kid. He was a _big_ wolf. He didn't want to bite the child, _really_, but that didn't stop him from threats. "Now _back off_."

Talo hesitated before blurting out, "Sheik always changed us back when we worked hard!" before fleeing.

Link sat back down and wondering whether that was a lame attmept at boasting or actual advice, fumbled with his nurse's notes. Gods damned he wanted his fingers back.

"Can I help?"

Link yelped. Agitha giggled at his surprise and plonked herself down next to him, helping him turn the notes. Her tanned face wrinkled. "These smell funny, and they're hard to read. What does it say?"

Link pawed a sheaf of thick paper thoughtfully, scanning the words. His beyond perfect short-sightedness made it pleasantly easy to decipher the words. "Fairies, familiars, and fortune. Wrong one. Keep going."

Agitha kindly obliged. "Ooh, does this one say Exiled? Sheik's book has a story about the Exiled, you know. It's scary but I like it."

Link read a few paragraphs and grunted. "Not what I want. Keep going."

"What are you looking for?" Agitha inquired politely as she flipped through the pages. "A treasure? Sheik sometimes brings them home from sprites and things,"

Link shrugged and grunted. "Don't know. Something." Then he paused and gave the girl a suspicious side-long glance, until she noticed and stared blankly back. "Why are you nice?"

"Because I think you're nice." She grinned, and her teeth were yellow as corn, but strong and healthy. His gums twitched upwards instinctively, smiling back. "And you saved us."

He grunted, his tone sheepish but happy. "Keep going?"

"Sure."

Eventually she found the page labelled 'For the Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered' and they'd read a few sentences before Link realised that it was advice for heartache and relationships. With some disgust he told Agitha to keep turning the pages.

'Changed, Clueless, Confused' yielded some results, but not enough. Link was getting annoyed with the alliteration, and wondered whether Fanadi had labelled them out of sheer boredom. It was certainly entertaining Agitha…

'Solutions to Shammed Shape-shifting'. Link's hopes soared as he placed his paw on the page, growling triumphantly, "Bingo."

"Agitha!"

They both looked up. Beth was scowling down at them from one of the pitiful excuses for windows on the second floor. "We have to beat the sheets now, come up and help!"

"Alright," She sang up, patting down her dusty shirt-tunic-thing, "Good luck Mr. Wolf."

Link nodded. He supposed being called that by someone being nice to him wasn't so bad.

…,…,…

_Long-term spells require a certain 'anchor'. If the 'anchor' is broken, then the __spell, and all other spells connected to it, dissolves._

Right. Link sort of got that. But he'd get it more if it explained what the anchor could _be_. Did the anchor even matter? Sheik'd said that he'd made the magic his own, unless she was lying.

He read a few paragraphs down, until he was interrupted once more. "_Link_, right?"

"Hi Beth," he replied absently, glaring at the pages.

There was a pause; when she spoke her words surprised him because the usual superiority had died. "Do you have a family waiting for you?"

Link blinked. Well, not his sister or father, since they were probably settling in Kakariko, though they'd be expecting a letter off if him soon…

Shit. Ordon Ranch. He'd started working there a few weeks back. And Ilia.

The wolf whined, covering his head with his paws. He'd totally forgotten about the ranch and Ilia. The ranch paid well, and the goats were well-behaved. Ilia was a nice blonde girl that he'd been flirting with since he'd been hired, and she was probably wondering why he hadn't shown up to work. Shit. Shit. He'd _totally forgotten_.

"Is that a yes?"

Link gave a growling sigh at her superior impatience. "Family went to Kakariko. I forgot I worked. At ranch in Ordon."

Beth wrinkled her beaky nose. "But you're a hunter."

"Ranch has money. We needed money."

"But you looked well-off!"

"_Was_ well-off."

"Did you… know a merchant called Larva?"

Link shook his head. His father worked with a man named Linebeck, and Link was sure that this merchant was one shady, dodgy bugger, but his father had never believed him.

"Oh," Beth sighed, and went back to being pompous and demanding. "And what _exactly_ are you reading?"

Link was saved from telling her when Sheik and Luda turned the corner, holding a basket full of nutshells. "Beth, my bird," Sheik called as she approached, "Would you care to report what our lupine guest is doing?"

"He's reading something. He won't tell me what."

"Ah then, Luda, be a dear and strangle it out of him, won't you? As for you, my darling goose-girl, help Talo crush these while I teach Malo his numbers. Then we'll see about that doll."

"Yes, Sheik," Beth muttered, hmphing at the presence of Luda before strutting away. Luda sat on the opposite side of Link as she waved Sheik off, sticking her tongue out at Beth. Link cocked an eyebrow as they entered the house. "Strangle?"

"Figure of speech," Luda nodded her head apologetically, glancing at his notes. "Oh my, are these counter-spells?"

"Finding out."

"My father worked with these types of things," Luda wistfully touched a corner of a straying page, sighing deeply. "He's a Priest. I think he still is one, you know, even now."

Link cocked an eyebrow. "What are you here? Thought everyone's an orphan."

The girl shook her head. "Not me. I, I broke a law, and I was supposed to be sent to Kakariko, but… things didn't turn out quite right…"

Well, Link thought, that explained a few things, like how she seemed to be the best educated out of them all, yet, she was the most awkward at this whole scenario. She was sticking her lower lip out at the pages. Link sighed and said, "Want to help me?"

The reaction was what he expected. Luda glared at him as if he'd offended her in the worst way possible. "_Help_ you?" she hissed, "You bit Sheik!"

Link shrugged. "Said sorry."

"That's not enough!" she snapped, standing up in disgust, "She changed you for a reason and you're staying that way for a reason! She'd change you back anyway if you _worked_ for her!"

She slammed the door shut to the hut, leaving Link alone. He huffed and continued with his notes, surprised that they hadn't taken them off him yet.

…,…,…

The night was here. Link was stewing on the front porch, chewing on a thick stick as if it'd done him personal offence. He wasn't quite sure which one he hated most; Talo or Malo. Probably Malo.

_That kid took his bloody notes._

Link'd noticed him staring at the wolf, from afar, and all he'd thought was 'creepy kid' before carrying on with his studying. He understood the concept of the anchor, now. He also understood that the magic worked like a cloak; he needed to take it off; if things were happening that weren't meant to (like talking) he'd either reshaped it or tore a whole in it. He hoped it was a hole.

Anyway, the call of lunch had been sent out, and Link had dutifully gone in when told, ate his fill, and went back outside.

The notes were gone.

He'd taken a ridiculous amount of time looking around the meadow and the outskirts of the trees thinking they'd only been blown away, but Malo had been standing there, with a small smug smile sitting on his face, and Link _knew_.

He was one day going to _kill_ those brothers.

Growling, he chewed a little more on the stick before letting it drop. He was going to show those kids and their precious Sheik. He was going to change back without their help, without her grace or mercy or pity. He was going to preserve what pride and dignity he had; he didn't see why he couldn't start now, either.

So Link snuck through the bushes, careful to disturb as little of them as possible, in case they were in cohort with the pesky pixie back in the hut. Besides, he had reasons. He needed to be away from the anchor as much as he could, and he'd surmised that it was either the black and white tree that he'd dubbed The Thing of Evil or the manacle. If it was the manacle, it was better off away from the castor, Sheik. If he really did change back, he wanted it to be in a place where he was familiar with the surroundings. Goddesses forbid he end up naked in the middle of the forest or something.

So. Back at his house's yard, Link concentrated. He took a deep breath, imagined his magic skin to be… orange, orange and purple like the twilight hour, like the caging film that'd globed the place when Sheik had first gone after Zelda. He concentrated, imagined it to glow, and he screamed in his head; _GET OFF_!

It didn't work. Okay, try again, then.

…,…,…

It was hurting, so it should be working.

If he was rhyming, then he was going insane. Oh maybe not. Yay.

Link stumbled onto his fours again, gasping. Two weeks. Two weeks of trying; he should be getting somewhere, shouldn't he? It _hurt_.

One more try. One more try, then he was going to back to the hut, pass out, and probably wake up to Colin's concerned poking. But _damn it_ He was going to try one more time.

Link screwed his eyes shut, concentrated and screamed in his head _GET OFF_!

Pain flared across his skin, nearly crippling him in its tenacity. The wolf growled and snapped his howl shut, imagining his fur turning orange, receding, he ordered his legs to grow, _grow din damn it_, let him stand, balance on his two arms, he clenched his canine digits and wished, begged for them to curl out and grow and let him _hold_ something he missed his opposable thumbs so much and he struggled against the skin of magic like a film of slime, like a cloak that clung too hard, he wanted it off, and he wanted it off _now_.

He thought he felt his fur receding. No, it _was_ receding it had to be.

And this was where he always screwed up.

He didn't know why. It was like he took the bloody thing off, but it rebounded right back round him, and he couldn't understand _why_!

Gods it hurt. He was gasping and wishing that dogs and wolves could _sweat_ and he was opened his eyes and the grass was stained in grey light and he realised dimly that it was coming from him so it must be _working_ damn it!

Then he noticed the manacle that was pulsing like a sick heart, tiny cerulean and magenta runes wriggling on the metal and he was horrified and terrified and _angry_ because Sheik that little _fairy_ she'd lied to him she said she had no control over his form oh if this didn't work he was going to head over there and break her, break her like a twig break, break, break, break-break-break-_breakbreakbreak_

"_Break_!" he roared, shoving his anger and pain and his frustration to that single pulsing object/

There was a ping, like a metal rod tapping a silver chime.

When Link woke up, he woke up to Hylian limbs, clear-coloured sight and the awareness that he was thankfully not naked.

…,…,…

A week had passed now, and Link wasn't feeling any safer than before.

He'd moved out. Now he was living with Fado, claiming it was more convenient, which was true, but he wanted to stay the hell away from Sheik and her forest. The ranch and the goats almost hid behind the village, away from her hut. The manacle, no matter what he did with it, came back. He threw it in the river, it was in his washing. He burnt it; he found it in his next batch of kindling. Buried it, it was on his doorstep by dawn. Worse, he touched it; he changed back into a wolf.

Goddesses that had made him panic like nothing else.

Thankfully he could take it off, but still. He didn't like keeping it in his pocket, wrapped in a bundle of rags as he herded the goats back into the barn.

He'd learnt a few things though, in the village. For one, he'd been wondering about the manacle, how Sheik'd claimed that he had turned the magic his own. Well, he'd gotten rid of it (the spell, anyway), hadn't he? So maybe she'd told the truth. Either way, he'd experimented a bit, and found that he could light a fire on the tip of a dry piece of grass, if he wanted hard enough.

And magic wasn't _un_common, a fact he was told from Ilia who'd laughed (kindly) when he'd hesitantly asked. Apparently her family were good with animals and healing; Fado had the greenest fingers in the whole of Hyrule, or so the village boasted. Sure it was only little things they could do, a bit of influence here and there, but the ancestors had been able to do _amazing_ things.

Link blamed his father for his ignorance.

He swung his wooden practice sword, a thing he'd been carving since getting away from the fairy. He wondered what she was doing. Was she hunting him down? Even now, was she watching him? He wanted to be prepared for when she came.

She haunted him with her black smile.

As if on cue, a shiver rattled his spine and he spun, his weapon dangling uselessly at his side. There she stood, right in the middle of the field, head cocked to the side, whiteness covering half her face, her toes barely grazing the tips of the tall dandelions. Her hair waved to the middle of her spine. Her red eye smiled.

The Hylian stifled a gasp; he hadn't seen her in too long. He'd never seen her as _himself_, and he was stunned by her sick ethereal beauty. She'd looked like a morbid angel in the night. She was a stunning creature under the sun.

She wasn't wearing that feral grin, either. She looked, surprised, confused. She glided closer and Link told himself not to step back. "Huh," she muttered, "I'd never thought…"

Link gulped. She was holding her staff, and its surface flickered like fire. "Um… so, about the year of slavery thing, what with me being human…"

"Voluntary service," she corrected primly, the hyena's snarl coming back like a curse, "And such a terrible, terrible shame…"

His heart jumped at her disappointed sigh with tentative hope. "Why…?"

"Mr Wolf," she elaborated, waving melodramatically, "We've been residing here a while, and my familiars seem awfully fond of it. My tree has yet to wilt; for once they have mortal shelter. My creatures are delicate and it would be a shame to tear them because of a single, selfish, stranger…"

Link dodged the staff that had an orange point, sizzling the sleeve it grazed. The young man yelped as he dodged again, the staff glowing like a knife, her expression one of concentration and ire.

"Wolf," she sighed as Link rolled, stood, and back-pedalled till he hit the wall of the barn, every fibre of his being screaming at him to RUN, "You wouldn't feel anything if you'd hold still."

"Screw that!" he blurted at her, gasping, confused, "Why do you have to kill me!"

"I have no power over you now," she shrugged, "You compromise my safety; a problem thankfully fixed by your disappearance."

Indignant and hurt enough to snap himself out of his confusion, he leapt for his discarded sword and parried her copper-glazed staff. Her eyes widened at his resistance.

Then narrowed.

"You know you don't stand a chance."

Link snarled, pressing his superior weight against her. "Don't I?"

She blurred back and forth staff _crack-crack-crack_ing against his head hand knee and he parried the first two _just_ but missed the third and he dropped like a stone and seeing her blur again he used it and rolled to avoid her stab and swung his sword back catching her hair as she ducked and spun, a foot striking for his gut caught in his gauntleted grip and he wrenched it up as he stood and threw her away before she could kick him with her other free foot, and it was easy to do because she was so _light_.

She twisted in midair and came right back, nails long and sharp as animals' claws; yowling in triumph. Link ducked and gave her a rap in the ribs to keep her away.

Relentless she spun and drove her knee into his stomach. He doubled over gasping; just in time he swerved to the side as her other knee aimed for his throat and pain exploded against his collarbone and blindly he slashed at her feet, and she gave a shriek as she tripped in midair and her shins were banged and for good measure Link bashed her in the back, and she collapsed in the grass, hissing like a snake.

Link uncomfortably retreated. Crazy fairy though she was, he really didn't want to hurt her too bad.

He changed his mind when she turned and snarled and every inch of her skin was covered in black right-angled veins that _pulsed_.

Instinct saved him; the only reason he hadn't been decapitated right then was because the orange 'knife' didn't have enough juice to saw through both his practice sword as well as his neck. But there was a shallow stinging cut near his ear and jaw, taunting him at how close it had been.

Sheik turned, inspected the result of him still alive, and sighed. The pulsing veins made her smile repulsive. "Must you make it so hard?"

"Oh _yeah_ because _wanting_ to live is _so _not good!" he yelled, throwing the useless hilt and stump, desperately searching for another weapon. "And making it _hard_ for you to _end me_ is such a terrible crime!"

"You sound just like Beth," she commented, and fire flickered over her staff again, and there was a magic knife manifesting its tip once more. "Is that another attempt to, as you say, to stopping me from ending you?"

"No, it's called sarcasm." Link backed away, heart beating like a snare, telling him, no, no, _no_ things weren't going to end this way, you hear me!

His pocket. The manacle.

Link shoved his hand in and he cried out as his body sifted and shaped itself and he dropped forward into a lupine form, disoriented.

Sheik blinked at him and smirked, loftily raising a hand. "Silly Wolf boy, did you forget the chain belongs to me?"

She jerked her wrist. Nothing happened. Frowning, she gripped the air and pulled; he felt a twinge, but that was it.

She looked distinctly scandalised. "You corrupted my binding as well!"

Great. Another thing on the list of reasons on killing him.

Her veins pulsed again as she stretched her hands out and dust and pebbles rose from the grass, pulling together into hunks and bigger rocks and they zeroed in on Link like arrows and the animal ran like wild because his thick coat wasn't enough to protect him.

He zigzagged to the side before switching direction and making a beeline for the fairy, lunging at her and she swung at hi with her staff and he bit it and wrestled and tore and wrenched and was _zapped_ and the wolf yelped and skidded, growling like thunder as he waited for her next attack.

She eyed the staff that was splintered at his bite and threatening to split in two. Then she eyed him and smirked, black veins receding as she sat in the air.

"I change my mind," she told him, "We make a new deal."

Link growled, expressing very vividly how he didn't like the idea.

She made a pacifying gesture with her weapon that looked patronizing instead. "You'll find this agreeable I assure you. You see, I've been teaching my familiar to fight with this, but Talo has gotten some twaddle in his head about it not being manly enough. Malo has caught on, and Colin flat out refuses to learn. And as they enjoy their animal forms…"

"Your punishment's out. Change 'em too long and they might be stuck that way."

"You really are annoyingly brilliant." She muttered, scratching her hair, "But I suppose it makes it easier for me. Hence, in designated days of the… what do you have this century? Weeks? Yes, in designated days of the week, you come to my abode, teach my familiars your skills on that sword of yours, and I leave you alone."

Link's ears perked. Sheik smirked. "Leave me alone?"

"Always."

"Just teach the kids? Nothing else?"

"Yes. Unless I see fit."

Link's eyes narrowed.

Sheik laughed. "Oh come now. Strong, brave, intelligent mortal like you, surely you can handle a few children?"

"…Fine."

"This is strictly confident, of course," she lay on the air, kicking her heels up, as she tapped Link's wet nose, "So, beware, beware of your slip of the tongue, or my claws might take a slip in your lung. Understand?"

"Unnecessarily morbidly."

"Big words, Mr. Wolf."

"The name is _Link_!"

* * *

**Okay, I promise, the plot starts rolling a whole lot faster in the next chapter. I know so. I wrote it. Before it got deleted... (T-T)**

**And now for review replies:**

**_DownMoon_: Cool! XD Yaay, new reviewer! Always welcome. I try once a week, so, hope you didn't have to wait too long...**

**_LadyAlamantia_: Yeah, that Lost Woods bit is not nice. You actually get lost in there, OMG. And when they first came down, a litterally screamed. Well, more like squeaked. It wasn't very dignified... Can you imagine what would happen to those merchants if they actually bought Link? XD They would be so screwed.  
Shek ain't so whimsical in the future... (:o)**

**_Teriyaki Chicken_: You have to love the evilness of her looks, don't you? XD**

**Thaaaaaank you all for coming, please leave a review, and I'll get right back at ya!**


	6. The Ice Queen

**Heya guuuuys! Nice seeing you all again! Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and all the other craziness of the end of another earthly spin. **

**It's been fun.**

**Soooo! This chapter has been finally finished (again). Now I just have to start on chapter 7 (again). Thankfully I've finished chapter eight ahead, becuase it's so much more refreshing and happy to write something new than re-writing something I've aLready done, hopefully I'll get my system back again and I'll be able to update fairly regualrly.**

**HOWEVER. (dun dun duuun...)**

**I will be travelling into the middle of nowehere. No, seriously. It's for a job, and basically I'll be working at an environmental clean-green hotel place in the middle of native jungle and hills and sea, where there will be very little cell-phone connection and much less internet. They have power so I might be able to type some of seven onto my laptop (unless it corrupts the file AGAIN...)**

**In short, I will not be updating this til... ooh, Februery? I might get back in Jan and blitz my keyboard while I'm at it, but... yeah, the chances of update within the months would be tightly fat and useless, I'm sorry to say.**

**Would it help if I said the job's eight hours a day, and I'll be doing back breaking work like looking after two manical kids and killing off some evil pineling (they take up space for the natives so they must die) as high as my waist? Gods it is going to be a nightmare. A paying nightmare, but still.**

**So, hope you forgive me by giving you na action-filled (hopefully) chapter, and the lovely review replies!**

**Happy Holidays.**

_

* * *

_

_**The Ice Queen**_

_Once upon a war-stricken land there was a Lord who had three daughters. However, he would only allow one to inherit, so he tested them by questioning them on how well they loved their father. _

_The eldest, who loved finery, compared him to royal dress that deserved respect and honour. Not to be outdone, the second described him as a gilded castle that was both beautiful and strong. The youngest, who enjoyed a hearty meal more than jewels and clothes, said that she loved him like salt, for even the greatest banquet would be bland without it. _

_The Man divided his estate between the two older girls and drove the youngest out to the poor village yonder, giving her only a sack of salt._

* * *

"Speak once more; your stuttering made it too bothering a mission to hear."

The leader licked dry lips, glanced at Hans and spoke meticulously clearly. "We were attacked by a wolf, as big as half a stallion, and it spoke like us, better, as educatedly as you, your um, your grace."

"A simple story easily fabricated by a simple mind."

They shivered as the monarch chuckled, tapping grinning fingers with manicured nails.

"I'll lend you my minions; they will commit any deed in my name. Including your slaughter, if your story is false."

The nightmares loomed before them and they bowed to hide them from their sight.

"Thank you your majesty, thank you."

…,…,…

"So," Link prompted, tapping the scarecrow's head with his newly carved practice-sword, "What are the four basic moves?"

Talo had his hand raised high, grinning. "Side-swing, down-swing, stab and lunge!"

"Absolutely."

"Yeah!" he whooped, punching the air in victory.

Malo bitterly muttered as an aside, because he was the only one who'd wanted a go on the practice sword but couldn't because he was so small, "Like that was hard…"

Beth imperiously stood next to them, huffing smugly, trying to hide her own admiration and excitement. "Why don't you _demonstrate_ for them Link? After all, _kids_ like them need a _second_ look…"

Luda snorted from afar, shelling some peas.

Link looked at Colin who gave a non-committal shrug, and obliged.

A month had passed and things were getting too routine-like to last. Since meeting Sheik and getting to know her familiars (the fact that he was starting to call them that too was worrying) better, he'd learnt to expect surprises, and they tended to be bad. He was waiting, watching for his next bad surprise, and he had a feeling it was long over-due and it was coming with a vengeance.

When he was minding his business, he was so sure that he'd seen something flicker in the trees or in the skies, outside the window or in the tall grass, but it'd only be something normal, like a bird, or Sheik smirking at him from the trees, beckoning him into the woods to her hut. She still sent his heart racing with her smile, and the shiver that crawled down his spine seemed to confirm his suspicions that something _bad_ was going to happen, very soon.

Damn it he hated paranoia.

Link circled the scarecrow and gave it a glancing down-swipe, cutting its grainy stomach open. Oh, and he wasn't happy with the fairy, either. She'd interrupted a chat he'd been having with Ilia, and it'd been going _well_, Din damn it all.

Link cut to the chase with the scarecrow. He stabbed it, slashed its side, danced away and lunged in for the 'kill', splitting its rusting helm and pumpkin head cleanly in two.

There were cries of awe from the children; even Luda looked impressed.

"You, sir, have just wasted good food."

Link turned round and Sheik had a frown of disapproval on her face as she floated around the Tree of Evil, with Agitha carefully holding something fluttery and gold in her hands.

The young man shrugged, resting his weapon on his shoulder. "I'll just bring another one tomorrow."

She grinned. "Consider the debt paid."

Link rolled his eyes. Fairies and their debts. Worse than accountants.

"Sheik," Luda hastily stood from the porch and brought her basket of shelled peas over, "Are these how you wanted them?"

"Yes, they are. Well done. Beth, are you done with yours?"

"_Ages_ ago," she told her proudly, placing a hand to her hip.

"Then go teach Luda and Agitha how to steam them, then we'll see about that doll. And bug-eyes, make sure you have a home for your friend."

Agitha pouted. "You know I don't like it when you call me bug-eyes…"

The fairy laughed. "You also know that golden pill bug made a nest in my hair. Now go on, and make sure those two don't hurt each other; the threat that they'll never be able to go near fire again should do the trick."

"Yes Sheik," Agitha sighed as she entered the hut, pouting as if she couldn't believe the fairy couldn't let that incident go…

"Boys," Sheik continued firmly, "Go see if Felicia's ready to give up some of her power yet. And take some of the trinkets if she's not."

Colin sighed in relief while the brothers moaned.

"I'll go get them," the blond boy rushed away before the others could argue; Talo and Malo plodded behind him accusingly.

Link eyed Sheik, who gently lowered herself onto the grass, and asked, "Felicia?"

"One of the Fay around, not quite under my services yet. Probably because she claims to be a daughter of the Fairy King."

"Huh," Link nodded, before adding, "Smooth move, by the way."

Her reply was sharp and confused. "What?"

"You want to talk to me about something you don't want those kids to hear, right?" he elaborated, gesturing with his head, "Go on, spill."

Her black lips twitched upward, and she chuckled. "I forget sometimes you're a brilliant mortal. But yes, I had something that… confused me."

Her gaze was incredulous. "Last time you came, you brought some hares. Why?"

The young man blinked. "So you could eat them?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yes of course, but why? Do you expect your sentence to shorten because of the favour?"

Link barred his teeth at her. "I think I asked you to stop treating me like a criminal."

She floated a step back warily. "All mortals have motive, sir, and I was wondering what yours was. Is it so wrong to satisfy my curiosity?"

"_Motive_? What do you mean _motive_, I didn't have one."

"I do not believe you." She told him bluntly. "All sentient creatures have motive."

Link gave an aggravated sigh. It must be the freaking debt thing, for Furore's sake, did this never _end_? "The place looked ramshackle, the kids looked hungry, I found an infestation of rabbits further up and it was on the way here, and I thought, why not. I have food, I wanted to ease my mind. There, that's my motive. Happy?"

She scrutinised him and his annoyed answer. She found something amusing it seemed, because she chuckled again. "Well then, I thank you. The children loved it so much I couldn't insist to ration the meat. It was a feast that night."

She smiled at him pleasantly, and Link cleared his throat and looked away. Despite her colouring, she was extremely easy on the eye. And sometimes, even when she terrified him, her eye was so… _different_, he couldn't help but stare.

She was chuckling again. Link asked why. "Oh, it just seemed _one_ opinion completely changed about you."

"Oh." He grinned. "Talo."

She laughed and floated higher, clutching her sides in glee, "He's so enthusiastic about these lessons; they're a great source of motivation for me, though he denies it for my sake. He's even fashioned a nice stick for Malo. Colin, however…"

"He's a good kid, but he doesn't see the point. I personally agree that it's the right idea to not enjoy fighting, but especially these days… it's good to know."

She cocked her visible eyebrow suspiciously. "What do you mean? It's always dangerous, is it not?"

"Well…" how to explain this to an out-of-touch magical being… "There are people out there, high up, just looking for someone to pick on, you know?"

She glared at him. "You mean your Queen?"

Link started. "How'd you know that?"

She growled, and her hair seemed to billow a little, her hidden fairy eye flickering in and out of sight. "She's the reason why the Fay hide. She's also responsible for most of my familiars being here. Especially Agitha; she lost her parents to her soldiers."

"Is that why you look after them?"

She snorted, sneering as if he was a fool. It spiked his ire and he found himself growling even before she spoke. "Unfortunate lives are numerous as the stars, Wolf, and I don't go looking for them like some mortal pilgrim. I mind my own business. If it so happened that children stumble across my path, what do I care as long as they pull their weight?"

"And here I thought you had a heart."

"Fairies don't bleed, therefore we have no use for them."

"May I remind you," Link snapped, "That lie doesn't work on me. I bit you, and I felt it spill through my teeth, disgusting as it is. _And_ I helped Colin clean it off the front step."

"Magic and blood are very different, dear. And why are you so concerned about my internal organs?"

"That was also extremely disgusting."

"I try."

Link was surprised, because it was a pleasant one, and he couldn't believe… "Did you just make a joke?"

She smiled sweetly. "What is this joke you speak of?"

He snorted, shaking his head with a smirk.

"Now I have that sorted, shall we take you back to your precious Ilia?" she levitated and lightly tapped his nose; a gesture she refused to let go of no matter how much he backed away or swatted at her.

Link started as his nose tingled at her touch, uneasily realising that he'd forgotten all about the nice blond girl back home.

But he reasoned with himself, as he stumbled through the vegetation and tripped over roots, that it was inevitable. His visits to the hut were like entering a new world. It was no wonder that he forgot the one he frequented his life in.

"So," Sheik smirked like a hyena as a branch snagged at his clothes and leaves swatted his face, and nothing so much as touched her, "Does Luda still hate you?"

The Hylian sighed enviously. "Yes, yes she does."

…,…,…

The creatures loomed over the sight of the mauling, but they had been dispatched too late; the scent was weak, mingling with other natural ones. They waited till dawn.

Like traps they settled in the forest, and as one they roared at the sky. Things died. Others were driven to quick sickness. The only things that flared with life with the clouds of raucous birds that fled from the horrible noise and the trails of magic all over the forest floor; fairy dust, footsteps of beasts, and something else, a thing of civilised savagery, flecked with the scent of human blood.

It could be Dinolfos. But they surged like the tide, trailing the scent.

…,…,…

"Do you want… no, that's not right. Would you like to come to dinner?" Ilia smiled at the mirror but it didn't look right. She tried a few more times before it looked legitimate. Oh, who was she kidding, she wasn't even sure whether he liked her. He always seemed so distracted, even when he'd started the conversation; his eyes would drift to the sky or the trees as if he's looking for something, _waiting_ for something.

Sighing, she left the house.

Something bizarre was charging towards her and it shouted: "_Look out_!"

Ilia blinked. "_Link_?"

The young man in question gritted his teeth as he was dragged by the charging goat, his arms screaming almost as loudly as the animal as he wrenched is horns to the side and made it stumble against the earth. There was a crash and a scream and Link rolled away before he could be crushed by its weight or one of its flailing hoofs found his ribs or head.

"Link!" Ilia ran to him and helped him up, worriedly checking over his shaking limbs, "Are you aright, what's going on?"

"Yeah," he leaned on his knees as he caught his breath. "Yeah, I'm fine. No idea what's going on. These guys've been going jumpy since yesterday. First one to bolt,"

He didn't help the jittery animal up; that was just asking for trouble. Ilia quickly moved in and hummed as she rubbed its head between its horns, calming it enough to ease its breathing, but its eyes were still wide and its muscles were still tense; any sight of danger and it'd go nuts again.

Ilia worriedly continued to rub its head before patting its back. "You think it's wolves?"

Link couldn't help snorting but quickly changed it to coughing, muttering something about dust to the confused girl. "Yeah. Could be."

And Ilia spoke those words before she could stop herself: "You want to stay to dinner?"

He looked at her, surprised. Ilia continued before things could get awkward, "You know, since you live so far away, oh no wait you moved in with Fado, it's, no, that's still not good, you guys might not be safe, why not eat at ours? Both… of you?"

Link smiled, and Ilia ducked her head. "That's really nice of you, Ilia. I'd like that."

He shoved his hands into his pockets, pleased with the predicament, when one of his fingers brushed the rag-covered manacle and plunged his world to dark hued shades, and his joints ached to change but the contact wasn't strong enough and the goat brayed.

_Want pat. Want safe. Safe from boom. Bad boom. Want pat, want pat.__ Bad Boom!_

Link wrenched his hand out of his pocket, hissing. "I'd really, really like that, Ilia, but if we both take a break, the goats might be in trouble. And I think Fado would want to guard them tonight in case one or two jump the fence or something."

"Oh, o-oh, right…"

"Maybe next time?"

"Yeah, yeah, next time."

Her face was bright with a smile, and Link smiled back, hiding his unease. "Can't wait."

Link guided the finicky goat back to the corral, and hating himself, brushed the manacle with his fingertip, a thin piece of rag between skin and metal.

The world swirled in bright green and navy blue, and his sense of smell went crazy and he wanted to throw up; but he swallowed his bile and gripped the goat's fur to keep himself upright. He wasn't surprised when the goat became a little panicked.

_Ow. Odd human. Hurting human. Not safe. Not safe!_

Safe, he thought as he hummed deep in his throat, almost like a growl, See? I'm patting you, everything's safe.

_Odd human. Talking human.__ Nice human. Nice pat. Carrot?_

Yeah, sure, he thought, I'll give you one if you tell me about those booms?

_Boom? No boom! Bad boom. No boom!_

No boom. You're right. What's boom? I give you carrot.

It took the goat a while to figure out it was being offered a deal, but in the end it nodded its heavy head and said, _Bad boom. Coming closer. Big boom_.

Wolves? Link thought, extra careful about touching the piece of metal in case the thought triggered a change…

_No teeth. Just boom. Bad Juju._

Juju was a hideously ridiculous word. In normal circumstances, he would be rolling on the floor laughing at the mere mention of it.

From a goat, it sent dread into his stomach.

Juju was bad. _Magic_ bad.

…,…,…

When Link burst into Sheik's meadow with his practice sword, saw, axe, hammer, some nails, and a massive pick strapped to his person, she was extracting stones and bricks from the fire, wrapping them in rags so the kids could take them in and warm their beds for the night. The sky was a tinged with orange and pink and purple, the sun grazing the trees.

Sheik stood suspiciously, picking up her staff from the ground. "What brings you here?"

"Bad juju."

The kids present sniggered. He didn't know who but they went in to tell the others the news that he was here. Link gulped. "Look, the goats, they've been panicky and I didn't know why till I talked to one with the _thing_ you know what it is and it told me about this juju, and it's bad, Sheik, it's magic bad and you have to get out of here _now_."

She rolled her eyes, sighed, and began to stroll towards him. "Mr. Wolf, that may explain your weaponry, but I assure you we are safe. If any creature powerfully adept at magic were near, my tree would start wilting as soon as they come within the borders of thi-"

Black flickered in the sky, forming a vague square that had red lights swirling on it, in it, _through_ it and three shapes tumbled out.

In a blink Sheik's tree imploded dead, the white bark twisting dry and the black leaves dropping like shrapnel.

Sheik turned at the children: "_RUN_!"

They froze instead. So did Link.

The only ones that had rights to exist were the bandits that tumbled off the monstrosities' backs, sobbing and cursing from their travel. But little attention was paid to them; all the surrounding people saw were the nightmares.

They were just barely humanoid, with arms and legs and a torso, but they crawled on their fours and the digits on their forehands were wrong. They were big as two horses; they had muscle to kill five in a blow, and their bodies glistened black oily rainbows over riveted trenches of runes and characters. They growled without mouths, saw without eyes, sniffed without noses; instead of heads they had runic stone tablets as big as shields, lined with waspish black tentacles.

Agitha screamed. They surged forward.

A battle-cry and a _bang_ and Sheik's staff bore a hole into One's shoulder, and it howled like metal grinding against stone. Two went to its aid and swiped at Sheik and she was thrown back like a doll, rolling and bouncing in the grass, leaving a spotted trail of red behind her.

Blood.

Three was going straight for Link. He threw his practice sword away—how did any idiot expect wood to work on these _things_—and clutched his saw. He threw himself to the side and swung back and dug the saw into the back of its neck and _yanked_ and black blood spilled over his hands.

It gave a keening wail as it bucked and Link let go, not dodging its massive stone head fast enough. It gave a glancing blow to his right arm, and pain flared and juddered his whole side as he cried out, stumbling back as he cursed, regaining his footing.

It was circling back before charging so Link grabbed his axe (glad that his favouring arm wasn't hurt) and threw it at its face; the tool hit it but it just got lodged and the thing wasn't hindered _at all_ and what the hell was he supposed to do with a _hammer_ Link almost froze as the thing came closer and closer but he turned the hammer's prongs towards the creature and swung; it was clever, it swerved to the side and dodged his weapon but there was resistance anyway; the hammer had caught the saw's handle.

Link threw his weight _down_. The saw grated through the thing's neck and it toppled like a tower of night-time screams, and one of its hind legs caught Link's own and he was forced against the ground, and he kicked-kicked-kicked it till it finally rolled off of his aching left shin.

Link gasped, staring at the creature, and sat there trembling. He couldn't process the fact that he had _another two to go_.

There was a battle cry and Link jumped. Sheik held her staff in her hands, the injured arm laced with a singe ribbon of dripping red, and the weapon glowed orange and a long curved knife manifested at its tip, and her hair billowed with her power. One and Two circled her as she glared at him, and she was shouting something about the kids as she swiped her weapon at the two monsters, and it took a while to click.

The bandits. The kids.

He stumbled away from the dead Three, hastily picking up his practice sword as he rushed at the human adults that were rounding up the shouting kids like goats. Agitha and Malo were already captured, bound by trope and thrown into the dirt. Beth had her hair caught in a vice-like grip, screeching to be let go, and Talo was shouting and biting scratching kicking at his two capturers; Colin was helping Luda away, who looked like she'd hurt her leg.

His fear turned to anger that flared into fury. How _dare _these people bring in these horrors. How _dare_ they come in here, destroying and pillaging and ransacking _everything_ this family had worked and built together when all they were doing was minding their business, they were going to pay, of they were going to pay. in. _blood_!

Beth was the closest. Link charged the man holding her scalp and swung his wooden weapon in to the back of his neck, and there was a _crack _too loud, and his head went back too far and he crumpled and Beth was shrieking incoherently and Link pried the kidnapper's hardening fingers from her hair as quickly as carefully as he could, and she was shaking and frozen and staring at him, and Link barked in her face: "_RUN_!"

Beth sobbed and obeyed, scurrying to where Colin and Luda were escaping.

Link blinked. It was like the girl was running through orange slime. He looked up at the sky and there was less blue and more grey and orange and purple. Sundown. Furore, Nayru and Din. If they didn't finish this soon they would be fighting in the dark.

Another tower of nightmares fell and Link spun and saw Sheik's blade buried in one of the beasts' head, the One with the blown shoulder. The other one was healthy but there was only one left, only one. Link turned with some savage satisfaction towards the men, but behind him the third creature raised its head at the sky.

Its roar rattled his bones and jarred the air; it was scrunched thunder, tearing metal and grinding stones wrapped in a storm of agony and pain and as Link was forced onto his knees clutching his jangling head, he couldn't help thinking that _bad boom_ was brilliantly apt as a description.

The roar reached Ordon and the goats stampeded.

He heard a thunk and a clatter. He turned around, and saw that it was his hammer and saw falling to the ground, freed from the monsters' flesh because its wounds were smoking into full recovery, lumbering on its muscled fours once more.

_Bad juju_. Also amazingly apt.

"Link!" Sheik shouted, swinging her staff again as she zoomed backward in the air, eyeing the beasts with terrible rage and a snarl that matched, "Get the children, and _order them _to call Navi. _Do you understand_!"

"Sheik, just give up and run too!"

Link froze as one of the bandits tried to stab her through the back but she turned and smashed her staff against his ribs, and he stumbled close-range to the beasts. It grabbed his head and bodily threw him into the trees like a doll, and his screams were quickly silenced.

Sheik glared at him with meaning. They didn't care who or what they killed; she was the distraction.

Link turned back to where the bandits were regrouping from the creatures' call. He took stock. There were six of them; two were guarding, two were chasing after Colin and Luda and Agitha, one was struggling with Talo and another was heading straight for him, cutlass drawn.

Link sidestepped his blow and gave a merciless side-swipe to the back of his head, and he fell, hands clasped against the bleeding wound as he bellowed in agony. Link jumped over him and went straight for the one holding Talo.

He was joined by another, bigger one and Link _recognised_ this bastard, Hal or Hans or something, the one he'd tackled when he'd tried to get at Colin at the road to Faron. The man grinned and unsheathed a sword and charged.

Then the world shuddered.

Link tripped and fell and rolled and he saw her in the air, and she was covered in evil-looking right-angled veins again, but this time they were white and it made her look like she was glowing and she _was_ glowing gold and emerald and flecks of black against the purple sky, and she gave a shriek like glass scraping on glass and her staff erupted three thorny vines that arrowed into the three creatures' backs, leaving gaping holes in them as they silently fell.

Sheik fell too, gently at first, but close to the ground gravity took over. She face-planted, her golden glow bleeding out into the sunset. She didn't move, but she breathed.

Link's heart jumped with hope. Killed all at once. They couldn't give out their survival cry, not like this-

Then he saw one of them twitch up in the greying light, a giant bite mark in its side instead of a massive hole in its middle and it lifted its stone face-

Even with his ears clamped shut the call nearly tore his existence to shreds.

Link opened his eyes. Hans was grinning, huge fist swung back.

Talo bit his captor's hand hard and shrieked. "Sheik! _Sheik_! Don't fight them!"

"Quiet!" she rasped like a Hag, forcing herself up. Her hair was plastered with sweat, he could see that, and her injured arm sported more than one path of blood, and her hand slipped in the grass. "_Call Navi and run_!"

Talo bellowed "_No_!" before he was silenced with a blow to the head.

Pain exploded in his face but he used that to roll and Link staggered to his feet away from Hans, swaying on his two feet, clutching his aching jaw. Hans laughed and swung his sword against Link's discarded wooden toy and it was cleanly in two, instantly useless.

The children that'd taken cover were being rounded up. Every single one of them would be tied, and then the bandits would have more free hands, and then he and Sheik would be easy pickings. _Not _going to happen.

Link shoved his hand into his pocket and he was even dizzier and he fell face first into the grass but he landed, and he shook his furry hide and saw the enemy with clear cut eyes and growled.

_They were messing with his pack. _

Link lunged and they didn't even try; they fled like rabbits on the hunt. They remembered his bite, his tearing teeth, the broken bones and the ligaments and the pain and _fear_. Link went immediately to Agitha and Malo, both of whom were gagged, and once he made sure the guard couldn't move by crushing their knee caps he tore through their ropes and set them free. They scrambled to help Talo and the other three were running back to reunite with them. Link circled the children until they were all together.

Now, for the rest-Sheik screamed.

Link turned. Froze. The bandits cheered.

The three beasts had her. She was lying on her back, and barking in pain, and one of them had one of its paws and her already bleeding shoulder and there was a clean _snap_ that only Link could hear that sent the fairy into a storm of screams.

The children screamed with her, terrified for real now.

Link's fur was held in a grip. He turned and saw it was Colin.

The blue-eyed boy looked both determined and scared. "We're calling Navi. Please take care of Sheik for us."

The wolf didn't need to be told twice.

The animal raced for the Beasts One and Two, who guarded Sheik's execution. Three had a 'hand' raised to the sky, ready to smash into her like a mallet and squash whatever body part it saw fit.

Then a soft, calm, pastel blue enveloped him like a blanket of velvet, and he was floating and there was a breeze and a giggle, till he was once again deposited to the ground.

The Beasts' screaming hit him like physical blow. But he weathered it and glared at their sprawled and writhing forms, and he saw with his lupine eyes a knot of veins on their backs like hearts, and Link _struck_ and_ struck_ and_ struck_ and they fell virtually at the same time, fracturing into small pieces of darkness before smoking away.

He growled, waiting for them to get back up, or manifest, or _something_, but the air stayed empty, and their smell quickly died out.

There was a whimper. Link returned the call and gently nuzzled Sheik's face. Her whole right arm was a mess; covered in blood, it was impossible to tell whether which part was lacerated like ribbons or just soaked in _red_. Her shoulder was a mass of pulp, and when she tried to grin her teeth were yellowed with bile.

"N-now… for the mort, mortals…"

He growled and looked up, and was horribly, terribly, gut-wrenchingly shocked to find that, "They're not here."

The fairy was hyperventilating and forcing herself to roll, and Link realised what was going on and felt worse, as he corrected himself, "_We're_ not there."

He didn't know quite know how, but he and Sheik were as far as they could get from her hut without leaving the village. He knew this glade of bent trees; the goats hid in the shade of these trees often when the sun got too much.

They were at the Ranch.

Sheik's face twisted almost beyond recognition as she scrambled. "_No_. No, no, n-"

She gave the wrong pressure on the wrong appendage at the wrong timing, and she fainted from the pain and silently collapsed.

Link moaned. When would this night _end_?

Because it really was night, now, the sun was completely under the horizon and the sky was closer to black than blue. And it was getting heavy, though Link didn't understand quite why, but he could feel it and he was worrying more than he was before.

He quickly bit his manacle and slipped it off his foreleg. He threw it into the underbrush, knowing it would haunt him later, and quickly stood on his two feet and gathered the feather-light fairy in his arms and then his back, careful to not jar her injuries.

He ran in the dark, as fast as he could, and thankfully nobody noticed his presence, too busy with keeping the mad goats in line. He made beeline _away_ from Fado's (there was no way he could explain this to him) and made straight for his old house, the door to which he kicked open without thinking and barged into his father's old room where the bed still lay with a mattress. The lanterns lit themselves as he commanded with subconscious magic, and his path was lit like a dream.

He lay her down and grabbed a bunch of sheets; tied them round her side and arm as tightly as he could to stop the bleeding; rushed to the front door and banged it open.

The manacle grinned like death.

…,…,…

He went to the hut, and they were long, long gone. He followed their tracks, their scent and sense of fear and sick triumph, and that led to a clearing that smelt of horses and metal.

The sky grew heavier, and heavier as he followed the road, but it grew to heavy for it to bear and the rain fell in torrents, wiping the scent as clean as you please.

Link stumbled to a halt at the crossroads.

_No_! No, no, no! _NO_!

The kids, they were gone, they were _gone_ and he couldn't follow them, not without losing himself in the fields, not without losing Sheik to blood loss, not without losing their scent completely and utterly in the tears of the goddesses.

Link howled at the sky, cursing it.

* * *

_The girl wept as she wandered away, clutching her sack of salt. She stumbled from the forest track and exhausted, slept through the night using the salt as a pillow._

_In the morning, an angel with a halo woke her up and apologetically requested the salt as a fee of guidance. The girl protested that it was her only inheritance, and the one thing to remember her family by. The angel listened to her story and laughed, so happily that the girl cried again._

_But instead of tears, two pearls shaped as dew-drops slid down her cheeks into the angel's palm, and she smiled her apologetic smile. "A girl's salt tears are far more precious than the sack-full of brine you hold. One I will have of these, and you shall have the other for your brave mettle. Now come, there is light and comfort beyond."_

_The girl was happy to oblige, and they say she ascended to heaven with a peaceful smile, and none of the villagers found her mortal body._

* * *

**I am pretty sure a lot of you hate me right about now. But it's okay! Really. I assure you.**

**_NinjaSheik_: Thaaaank yooouuu! XD Hopefully this was quick enough, though I'm sorry to say it won't be the same story for the next one... hope you enjoy!**

**_DownMoon_: So much praise! Gosh it feels great to be loved! lol. Yeah, dutifull Sheik's are painful and boring. Though sometimes emotional Sheik's are _painfuller_... that is so not a word. I hope you enjoy this, and it makes up for the real long delay to come.**

**_LadyAlamantia_: LA, you're like my most faithful reviewer. Of course I'll ask you for help! XD I appreciate your presence, really. It makes writing on here so much more fun and fulfiilling. And I have to agree on Malo. He is annoying with his stupid though cheap shop, and the fact that the only person that contributes to his charity is Link. Garrh. Though I checked up my last chapter and saw that I had a typo. It was TALO that said the staff wasn't manly enough, and Malo that followed. But still. Both of them are annoying. garrh. I also agree about Colin. But hey, what Sheik says goes. Do not mess witha fairy.**

**_Teriyaki Chicken_: Yes. The thirty pages was like a physical blow to the stomach. I nearly cried. (T_T) well okay not really but still. It hurt. Now that you mention it though, this Sheik isn't so emotionally displaying as you'd think... (0.o)**

**_.gold_: Yaay first fanfic! Woot! XD Thanks for reading a reviewing! Nah, it's okay, you don't really have to know much about the games to tag along with this story. It's mostly original, so if you're confused about what places or people look like, just go on Zeldawiki and you'l have everything you need. You won't even have to worry about spoilers here, it has _that_ little to ddo with the games. Hope you keep enjoying!**

**Please review?**

**:flee to the middle of nowhere:**


	7. The Forty Thieves

**Guess what? I blitzed my computer. I think I was up till, like, 3 o'clock in the morning finishing this. I still haven't gone to the middle of nowhere, but I'm close. Going on the 13th, coming back on the ooh... 18th of Feb? Something like that. Thankfully I knew what I wanted to write, so... here you are!**

**Oh, not much action though there is some emotional turmoil all round.**

* * *

_**7 The Forty Thieves**_

_Once upon a time, in a country suffering from drought and famine, there lived a poor woodcutting family of four. Food was so scarce that fearing starvation, the woodcutter's wife convinced her husband to lead the children into the forest and abandon them there, with only a thin piece of bread. _

_Lost in the forest for days, the two siblings found a bare tree as white as snow next to a forbidding cave, and thinking it was made of sugar, began to break its branches. There was a moan from the cave and the inhabitant hermit caught them hurting its prophetic tree, and taking some pity, gave them weak, salty broth which recovered them somewhat. _

_They realised, however, once they saw the evilness of the hermit's smile, that the man was a wizard. In the night they tried to attack him for fear of being eaten, and in turn were turned into a dog and a lizard._

_Days passed by, and the children lamented to each other about their horrible fate and their forced labour, until one day, a Swan Princess came before them…_

* * *

…,…,…

It was noon when she stirred, Link sitting on a stool ready for her at the head of the bed. He'd surrounded himself with medical tools and supplies, most of which he didn't know how to use, at least safely. The lid on the pot danced over piping chicken soup, thankfully not one cooked by him.

The first thing she did when she woke up was _not _open her eyes, but she did whimper and try to move. Link dutifully stopped her. "Bad idea."

She hyperventilated, and not once her eyes opened. She clawed at his hand that refused to let her do what she wanted, and she muttered, "M-my familiars…"

Link let her process the silence, and its significance. She whimpered and gasped again, like a muzzled crow wishing to scream. The hand he held clenched, as did the one that held the sheets. "No, no, no, no, _no_…"

"Look, Sheik, I tried, I really did, I-"

Her eyes opened, and both them bored into him like spears, the fairy one especially in its threat of flat bloodshed. "Tell me."

He gulped and explained, letting her go, "After we ended up in the corral and you passed out, I brought you here, my old place, so we'd be alone. I bandaged you up as best I could and-"

"You fail in my eyes right there, mo… mortal," she growled, trying to force herself up with her left limb, glaring as he sat there, "You s-should've left me, should've helped those-"

"You were bleeding to death!"

"_Fairies don't-_"

"And cut the 'fairies don't bleed' crap!" he yelled, standing up from his stool, "_Look at you_! There is _red_ pouring out of you like a freaking fountain and damn me if it isn't blood! You can't even sit up right!" he added, as she face-planted onto the mattress with an agonised hiss.

She hyperventilated a little more screwing her eyes shut, and she rasped, "Fine. Fine, I bleed. But I'm no meat creature like you, mortal. I am a _fairy_. My magic is my blood, and my blood is my magic. _I wouldn't have died_."

"Well I didn't know that, did I." Link snapped, dumping himself onto the stool again, leaning against his knees. He hadn't had enough sleep last night. And too many things had happened, too surreal, too insane. If somebody accused him of going nuts, he would've almost been relieved.

He tried to remember what they were talking about before… right. "I bandaged you as best I could, and then I followed their tracks as a wolf. I found their camp away from Ordon, in a clearing closer to Faron. I followed their scent, and it… it started to rain."

She paused, letting that sink in. Her voice was filled with horrible disbelief at their hideous luck. "Their tracks were wiped clean…"

It summarised how Link felt very well. "I got as far as a crossroad."

She closed her eyes and buried her face into the pillow, moaning. "To where?"

"Could be anywhere. Lake Hylia, Kakariko, Death Mountain, Castle Town, Kokiri, Goron, you name it."

He looked up and watched her breathe. Link supposed she was thinking, as she muttered, "Those Shadow Beasts… they must be the Queen's minions."

"You think that _why_?"

"Only she has this magnitude of power," she muttered simply, as Link held extreme doubts on her theory, "I must get to Castle Town. That is where she is, is it not?"

"Oh no. Oh no, no, no," Link stood up and waved her down as she began to struggle off her front again, though he failed miserably, "You're not moving. Not like this. Do you even _realise_ how hurt you are?"

"Fairies heal," she growled, and she collapsed again but Link instinctively caught her, and all he could do was help her sit up. "Cut my tunic open."

Despite it all, Link blushed, hands still on her arms. "What?"

She looked at him blearily, mind half-gone with pain, though he could see she thought he was being incredibly stupid, "I need to reach to heal it."

He looked down and sat behind her. If anything, he didn't have to meet her gaze any longer. "U-um, alright…"

Gingerly, he reached for the penknife on the table, next to the roll of bandages. There were jars of medicine and things there too, but he'd been kind of hoping the fairy would be healthy enough to handle herself.

His hope dwindled as he pulled off his haphazard bandages; the whole of her right side was stained brownish red, like a sick fan of colour that curved around and down from her shoulder blade. He supposed he'd been a little stupid as he cut at the reddest section of her tunic, and tried to peel it off of half-congealed scabs without hurting her too badly.

When he looked at the wound he held his breath at the smell and sight.

The wound was red, black, flecked with white and yellow puss, open like a sneering maw, and the flesh looked like it'd been brutally split open; he couldn't help but remember a summer by the lake where they'd bludgeoned a watermelon open with a large stick, because it looked a lot like it. He thought he saw a fleck of bone. Lined with black-blue bruises, and laced with still trickling blood, all Link wanted to do was turn aside, find a bucket and throw up in it.

Then he looked at her shoulder, then her arm, or what used to be her arm, and he choked on his bile.

"Sh-Sheik…" he coughed, swallowing his horror and disgust, "You should see a healer."

"No."

"_No_? Are you _kidding me_?" he was panicking and he knew it but he didn't care; he couldn't stop staring at the long black-blue-red mass of pulpy bone and muscle that he could identify as an arm only because her hand was attached at its end, relatively intact. "You should be screaming or unconscious or something, oh gods you should be _dead_, don't you realise how much damage this has taken? Oh gods, can… can you even _move it_? You aren't… you aren't even _crying_, gods if it were me I'd be-"

"I'm no mortal," she murmured, as she reached over and touched her shoulder.

There was a soft glow at her fingertips, and there was a subtle but audible _click_ as her snapped shoulder bones righted themselves and the white chip of bone sunk into muscles. The fingers glided down, and her useless arm straightened, her elbow fitted itself and her forearm shifted into the right, firm shape.

Sheik gasped and doubled over. Link hurriedly told her to stay put as he rushed out of the room and came back with a bucket of cold stream water.

She looked at him from under her ghostly fringe, and she looked so angry and hurt and all sorts of other things that Link's heart lurched with almost-fear. She was shaking. She took a deep breath, and let it go, slowly, as if she were managing her temper. "And Fairy Tears are too precious to spare."

"Okay. Alright. Look." He took a deep breath too and tried to avoid looking at a lot of things at the same time. Her eyes, her hair, her mutilated arm, and the flap of loose tunic that revealed a perfect collarbone, skin, and bandages wrapping her chest that he knew had nothing to do with injuries… "I still think you should see a healer-"

"No time, patience or need, _wolfboy_."

His lip curled irritably at the nickname. "But since you seem to hate the idea, I think we should clean the blood off and see what we can do."

He glanced at her and didn't know what to make of her glare. He grabbed a clean cloth from the table and concentrating on his annoyance before looking at the wound. It didn't help any; his stomach churned anyway. He kept his hands busy, kept his mouth moving. Just enough to ease their shaking and prevent last night's meal coming up his throat. "I won't touch your arm or shoulder, because it _will_ hurt like a bitch, so, I'm just gonna dip this in, wring it out, and wash the blood that way. Fair?"

She hissed as he did what he said, and gave a mute, trembling nod.

"If your magic stops infection-"

She growled: "Infection?"

"Damn it," he muttered as he wrung the cloth over her shoulder and arm, "It's bad. Just, do you know Deku Oil? It's found in the fruit, and yes I know they're poisonous but it's that poison that kills off whatever makes cuts and things rot, and it's thinned so it won't hurt you, it'll just protect you. Feel up to using it? And you need a cast for your arm…"

She flinched when cold water dribbled down said appendage. "A Cast? Is this a spell?"

Link snorted despite himself. "No. It's like a splint, only more permanent. We'll be using Deku _sap_, which'll harden into resin, and it'll stop you from moving your arm and hurting your bones. Believe me, I've broken a wrist or two when I was a kid, and casts work. Besides,I can't do magic remember? At least, not the big things."

She snorted right back. "You seem unaware that you're lying."

"Believe what you will." He sighed, finished with cleaning. He decided that her arm was less of an eyesore, and the niggling worry in his gut didn't spike as much compared to her back. The glimpse of healthy spine and other shoulder blade clearly indenting her skin made him nervous. He wasn't quite sure whether fairies were supposed to look under-fed.

He hefted a box of sticks and little plates of wood onto the bed and got to work with the cast, explaining as he went.

He fitted a plate (or slat) into her hand, long enough for her to rest her thumb on it whilst wide enough to cover her palm but not her other four fingers. He carefully set that in place with a glove of bandages, firmly but gently keeping her fingers in place. Then he picked out two sticks that were basically bow-shaped, and placing them on either side of her arm, secured it in place with more bandages. Once it looked like she had a whole sleeve of white rags, Link gloved his left hand, dunked it in a jar full of Deku sap, and smeared the stuff all over, giving it a double coating.

"There," Link sighed, licking his lips, "That should hold. Just let it dry, and after a few weeks we'll cut it open and see how your arm will be. And don't touch it. It'll be sticky."

She tapped the cast lightly anyway, smirking at the strange bulk her arm had become. "It seems that you're the only healer I need."

Link rolled his eyes as he got back to her split back. He was thankfully getting used to the macabre sight, though he wasn't quite sure that was good… "I still think you need a proper healer, who'll know if your bones are healing straight, how long this'll take to heal, whether the cast or this oil is a good idea…"

She laughed hollowly as he dripped the oil across the scything wound. "You have the knowledge, and the means to make a fix, and mortal how's and when's are useless for a creature such as I."

Link gritted his teeth as he wiped some oil over the bruises too, hoping that would help, "The only reason I have these things was because Ilia was so worried."

Her muscles shifted. Heat would've gone to his cheeks if it wasn't for the fact that the fairy was glaring at him with her scary, flat, burgundy eye, hissing like a curse, "_Ilia_?"

"She doesn't know you're here," Link hastily amended, "Hell, she doesn't even know _I'm_ here. Right now, as far as they know, I'm out in your part of the woods looking for the stray goats. They stampeded when those things attacked us. And if you hadn't noticed," the Hylian pointed at his face, his left cheekbone cut and bruised from the bandit's punch, "I was hurt too."

Her glare didn't relent an iota. "I am leaving."

Link glared back. "No you're not."

She was already moving away from him, trying to swing her legs onto the floor, "I am not risking my safety in the prissy, blindly dedicated hands of a love-sick goat girl, much less _Ilia_. She'll fawn over with a basket of trinkets for you and I do not _need_ her plaguing the village with tales of me."

Link jumped up and restrained her back into a seating position. "You're not leaving this house, do you understand me?"

She gawked at his vehement words, and her face twisted into an appalled, disgusted snarl, as if he had an acrid stench, "_I knew it_. I _knew_ you were up to something. You had it all planned out, you foul, foul, _mortal_."

Bam. Confusion. Right there. "What the hell are you-"

"I won't do as you say. I am not your slave, your personal trickster. You made a mistake in not stating your price, for I _will_ interpret this as _charity_." She spat the last word out like a disease.

"You have to rest!" Link exploded, "You have to let that oil settle, you have to wait till the cast sets, you haven't eaten since yesterday! Whatever's in you whether it's blood or magic, _there isn't enough there_! You need to eat, get your strength back, work out what you're doing, you _need_ to stop and _think_!"

"Don't you _dare_ tell me what to-"

"Or what!" Link shouted over her hissing, towering over her with his storm of indignant anger, "You'll zap me? Turn me into what next, a frog? This is my house you're in, my bed you're using, my help you need, so as of _right_ now, things go by _my_ rules!"

"I don't have _time_ for your petty-"

"Fine!" Link roared over her, "Fine! _Go die_! Leave those kids to suffer!"

She froze up, eyes wide, the epitome of shock as she stared at him. He gasped, regretting his words but unable to apologise, as he stormed over to the end of the room to grab his bag with unnecessary force, cursing as he toppled the chair.

He turned before leaving. "There's soup there. It should be cool enough for you to eat by now. I expect at least a bowlful gone, and I mean that Sheik, one bowlful at least. There's some bread next to it. And drinking water. Help yourself."

He was glad there wasn't a door, or else he would've slammed it as he left his father's old bedroom. He made a sharp u-turn and went up the stairs and barged into Zelda's old room and rummaged through her chest of old clothes. He found a few billowy dresses, with minimal buttons and fasteners, and he threw them into Sheik's temporary room yelling "Clothes!" before finally leaving the house.

One miss-step over a fist-sized rock sent pain flaring up his left shin like a knife. He grunted and staggered, and after taking a deep breath, he sat down on the grass to roll up his trouser leg and hissed at what he saw.

There was a mighty bruise there, brushing the bottom of his kneecap and the top of his foot. That Shadow Beast had been heavy, and it'd taken an agonising eternity to kick that thing off. While he was at it he checked his right arm too, and though it'd scabbed overnight it still throbbed like a mother of all cuts, and the bruising round there wasn't pretty either.

He wished he could heal it, just like that.

The young man blinked, and thought it over. Why couldn't he?

He touched his palm against his leg, and said, "Heal."

Nothing happened.

Link groaned. He didn't have time for this… "For goddess' sake, just _heal_!"

He jumped in surprise when his whole hand somewhat glowed. He tried again, and grinned.

…,…,…

Link jumped in surprise when somebody called his name. He saw who it was, and chewed his tongue. "Hi Ilia."

"Link, oh thank goodness I caught you," she was leaning on her knees, getting her breath back, before she stood back up energetically and smiled. "Everything's alright. We have all the goats."

"Oh, alright," the young man sighed in relief. "And thanks for the oil and sap, it's been a great help."

She quickly examined him, and worry flitted over her forehead. "But you don't seem to be using any…"

Link realised he'd had a reason to get out of the house before the fight with that pesky pixie and the Ordonian girl thankfully reminded him. "Oh uh… there was somebody who needed it more than me."

Ilia looked confused. Link elaborated, or more accurately lied, "While I was out looking for the goats, I found this guy, you know, on the ground, just barely after a bandit attack, so I took him to my old house, because it was closer, and uh, well, did the best I could."

"Oh _no_!" the girl gasped, clasping her hands to her gaping mouth, "I'll get more things, I can help with anything-"

"No! No, that's a bad, bad idea." Laughing nervously, trying to think up something else that would prevent offending the blond girl, "He's, he's a bit of a hermit, I think, slightly nuts, and gods he smells. Besides, he says he's fine, had worse, you know. I think it'll hurt his pride if we helped him more than we already have."

"Well… alright…"

"But tell you what," Link continued, gleefully getting back to his original plan, "We can help him in better ways. He was travelling with some kids, and they got kidnapped by these bandits, and I was wondering whether, your dad, what with being a worldly man and all that, know what the bandits might want them for?"

She seemed unsure whether it was a good thing or not on whether her father knowing where kidnappers would go, but she led the way.

The burly old man looked at Link gravely before shaking his head. Personal gain, he said, or cruel self-satisfying murders. Link refused to take that as an answer and hiked around the village.

Ilia secretly decided, after calming the goats and helping Fado with stabling them, that she'd collect her things and go to Link's house and offer her condolences to the father.

The Hylian went to the tannery, the ink makers behind, the food stands, the blacksmith, the wordsmith, the charcoal shed next door, the miller, all for nothing. They all looked disgruntled at time lost on their work, so Link bought a few things off them to pacify them, but he was getting angrier by the minute. Worried, too. He knew Sheik was going to try to escape, he just knew, but he'd left her food and clothing and she wasn't going to move for a while… will she?

"Link!"

The young man turned and grunted. He'd been told numerous times that he became a blasphemous obscene chatterbox when annoyed, and he wasn't going to test how true that statement was on an innocent man like Fado.

He looked at Link with concerned brown eyes. "You look worried. Can I help?"

"Not," the blond gritted out with great care, "If you can't tell me why bandits would kidnap six kids on the fly from this edge of civilisation."

Fado chewed his lip and looked sad. "Slave trade."

"Yeah I thou-… _Slave trade_?"

Fado nodded. "Probably."

"How do you know this?"

The stocky teen, after warily glancing between the hamlets of the village, rolled up his right sleeve till just above the elbow, revealing his inner arm. "I was part of it once."

Link's skin crawled at the brand mark of a spider with an eye on its back. "You…?"

"I couldn't read. Still haven't got the knack. I thought I was going into a 'pprenticeship but I was signing they could have me."

The crawl turned into a shiver. "What happened?"

Fado smiled sadly again. Link always thought that he'd looked sad, a bit like the goats, almost… caged. He wished he didn't know why. "I made friends with these kids, siblings, I still stay in touch, though I have to ask Bo to read the letter for me sometimes. Still learning."

"Do you…"

"I dunno where they take them," Fado admitted apologetically as he rolled his sleeve down again, "But Coro and 'is sisters got sold from Base, so he should know. He's the trades' point manager at Faron now. You going after them?"

"That's great! That's, wait, how'd you…?"

Fado grin grew more cheerful. "You're shopping."

"Huh?" Link looked inside his satchel, really looked, and snorted at his subconscious. He'd bought weather-proof boots from the tannery, lantern oil from the ink makers, dried fruit from the food-stands, a knife from the blacksmith, some parchment to burn from the wordsmith, jerky roasted in the ashes of the charcoal shed, and hard bread from the millers. "Yeah, I'm going."

Fado noticed the darkness cross Link's gaze, like a wolf slinking through the bushes. "Pay them back for me."

"Don't worry about that one, mate."

"Wow," Fado added as he looked at something else, "Ilia's in a hurry."

Even before he could turn Link was tackled in the side and Ilia was gibbering into his tunic, sobbing, "Link what is that what is that thing what's going on I don't understand-"

The connection made in his head with a terrible click. "You went to my house. I told you not to go to my house! Fucking hell!"

Fado looked a little stricken. "Link?"

"No time to explain!" Link pried the sobbing girl off of him, cursing the fact that Sheik had been right as he made a mad dash for the hut he shared with Fado, "I've got to pack _now_!"

"You want me to get some goats cheese for you?"

"Yes! But if you're not there when I'm leaving just leave it!"

Fado nodded and gently rubbed Ilia shaking back. "What's wrong?"

"Oh Fado, there was this thing, it looked human but it couldn't be, it _couldn't_, it was white and brown and it had a black mouth and its eyes were red Fado. They were terrible, I swear, they were like blood, so red, so red…"

…,…,…

Bedroll, blanket, cloak, food, water, clothes, boots, spare boots, bow and arrow, stuff he bought today. He hoped that would be all he needed.

But gods be damned! If Ilia hadn't come, things would've worked out a whole lot better, surely? At least he would've been able to tell her that he had a lead to the kids. Then maybe Sheik would get it through her thick magical skull that he wasn't the enemy.

He stumbled out of his old house with two extra bottles of Ilia's soup (of which Sheik had either eaten the requested bowlful as instructed or thrown out of the window) in his satchel, a bow and brimming quiver over his back, and a cloak underneath both. He held a ball of rags, something Ilia didn't see as she hesitated in the underbrush near his house, having come to convince him to not follow after that… that _thing_.

He flipped the ball into the air, sharply. The wide metal ring and chain sprung free, and eagerly bit at his wrist like an old friend.

His mind scattered. So did his body. The magic accommodated his cloak as extra fur, but that was all he got; he shifted his weight a few time before the bow and quiver and satchel sat right on his enormous back.

He traced her scent of blood and pumpkins (from the soup) and apples, and mixture that made him sneeze. But he caught her, so he bounded out, and didn't look back once.

Ilia collapsed, shock and fear running through her veins.

This was unfair. It couldn't be true. Magic was supposed to be wonderful, beautiful. It wasn't fair that it was so, so _savage_, so strange and frightening and alienating.

She cried for whom she had thought to be Link

…,…,…

It didn't take long to catch up to her, thank Furore. She was easy to spot, with her short red cloak and large hood thrown over her head, and she didn't even hear him coming. She snarled at him once she saw him, angry and tired and fed up most of all, as Link growled and barked, "Why did you leave?"

"Your precious Ilia called."

"Told her not to."

"Well I think the phrase this century is _shucks to you, mate_,"

"You have a lead?"

"Castle Town. The Queen will pay."

Link bit his ring and slipped it off. He was getting used to this morphing thing. He just needed to focus on his balance, and fight the dizziness. He spoke as he stood, holding his hand back to stop her from wielding that wickedly sharp knife at him, "Look, wait, the Queen just wants you, magic creature and all that. The bandits were hired hands. _But_, the way I see it, they think the Queen already has you. After all, we disappeared with those Shadow Beasts, or whatever you call them, so they were free. So why kidnap the kids? I have a lead. It's the slave trade."

She sucked in a breath, and she trembled as she strangled out, "_You lie_."

"No. No I don't. I swear, I remember two of their names. Hans and Dan. Fado used to be a slave, and he escaped with this guy called Coro, he's at the Faron trades-point. I have his description. We should go there we should go talk to him and-"

A bolt of energy made him stagger backwards, and Sheik cried out at the same time, barring her teeth like an animal. "I have no time. If you don't get out of my way, I will fry you, mortal."

"You can't even do _that_," he spat, clutching at his beating heart, "You've freaking lost all your magic after that crappy excuse for a fight, I saw you walking and _that_ doesn't happen bloody often. I bet you're holding that arm of yours right now, and I bet it hurts like a _bitch_."

She screeched and rushed at him and he easily caught her free arm. She struggled and kicked and bit but he showed his teeth right back, and she quailed at the fangs that hadn't quite retracted. She hung limply from him instead, then, whimpering. "I'm no use to you mortal. And I refuse to owe you a debt, _refuse_."

"So that's what this is about?" Link snapped, letting her go and making her look him in the eye, "You're suspicious of me? _Still_!"

"All you mortals are the same…" she murmured, glaring at him from under her fringe, "A neighbour helps you but you turn your back, a father betrays the daughter but the sister stays quiet, a woman leaves her children for the wolves out in the night, the unneeded infant's dropped in the river to pass away, empires topple at a child's whim, everywhere, everywhere, all I see are broken truths and _lies_."

"I'm not like that!" he yelled, ready to shake her till her head fell off, "How long since you turned me wolf? Eh? _Eh_? Nearly two months! Two freaking months, _fairy_.Shouldn't you have seen by now that I _keep_ my stupid promises? Haven't you seen that I care about those bloody kids too? I watched your door for nearly three blinking weeks, I trained those kids ever since, I _like_ them! I want them back as well!"

"Oh yes at first," she calmly scoffed, blithely challenging him with her expressionless face, "But then it's the little favours you want, because you did this for free, did that for kindness, really, it's only a small favour, isn't it? But the favours get bigger and uglier until you think you have us under you thumb, and what then, sir? What then?"

"You snap my bloody neck, that's what," Link told her bluntly, growling. "I like to think I know you too."

"Good. Then we have no contract. Goodbye."

"We're not done here-"

"Yes we are!" she shrieked, and for once she was really panicked, like a rabbit caught in a bear's trap, "Don't you see! This didn't have to _happen_! If I'd only protected them, if only I'd dispatched those creatures the first time, the time I _missed_, none of this would've _happened_!"

"Bullshit. Because I know exactly who's fucking fault it is!" Link told himself to breathe, before he began spitting or something, and that was disgusting at best… "It's my fault."

She gave a startled laugh and sneered, "How so?"

"I saw your back, the way it was _ripped open_. That thing didn't have any claws. But it's pretty damn easy tearing something that's already got holes in it, right?"

Sheik blinked in surprise at the genuine pain on his face, as he cast his eyes over the hood that hid her bandages and cast, "I bit you and you hadn't healed and you fought those evil bastard son-of-a-bitch demons. You hadn't healed…"

His sigh was ragged as he finally let her go and rubbed his head. "If you want to work your way, fine. I'm offering you a contract, as you so put it. I bit you, that made you lose your kids, so I help you to get them back to pay my debt. I'm your hit-man from here on out. Sound fair?"

He offered her his hand to shake, and she looked at it as if it would grow teeth and bite her. She abruptly shook her head and walked away. "I'll not. I'll not do it, and that's final."

"But-"

"The wording with a fairy is tricky, mortal," she snapped waspishly as she marched, "You're a smarter mortal, you know that light was odd. That light!" she gave a shaky, hysterical laugh before hissing in his face, her maniac, conspiratorial grin nearly splitting her face in two, "That _light_ was meant for them. That was Navi's fairy magic, a transport to safety. It was supposed to take them and _leave me behind_. It was meant for _them_ I told that fairy so, I built a singing house but still she tricked me, I don't know how, but once I've killed your Queen, I intend to find out."

"We're going in circles!" he insisted angrily as he followed her, "I've got a lead! You've got what, an _assumption_? Just come to Faron, _please_, talk to Coro and let's see what he knows. If it's nothing we'll go to Castle Town. It's a chance, Sheik, isn't a chance enough?"

She growled and stopped. She spat in the grass and pointed at the horizon. "Is that Faron?"

Link looked. "It… It actually is. I hadn't realised…"

The fairy looked at the rising smoke of the trading post and spat. "If only to silence you and keep you away, I'll meet this Coro of yours. What sort of mortal is he?"

Link told her he had a big head, a parrot, and owned a lantern shop.

…,…,…

The lantern shop was so easy to find because it was on the corner of Faron that they were approaching. He was also easy to find because he _did_ have a big head, if you counted his hair that was wild enough to support a birds' nest. Hence the parrot.

Sheik threatened. Link tried some pleasantries. Surprisingly both worked just as fine.

Coro showed his brand and said, "I was sold at Base. It's this arena in Eldin, just on the edge of Kakariko heading towards Goron City and Death Mountain. Farmers out here don't like to buy kids, thinks it's cruel, or they don't get the labour quick enough. A batch of six, roughly the same age, were sold as groups when I was there. Here, take this map, and don't bother following the roads. They will be, but they have carriages. You'll make same amount of time. Four, five days. A week at most."

Link nodded his thanks. "Sheik," he suggested, "Kakariko's on the way to Castle Town-"

"A detour. But… I've decided. I'll enquire Navi first, and see if your story holds merit."

She turned away immediately without saying a word.

Link apologised to Coro, bought a lantern off him, and chased the fairy.

"What are you doing?" she snapped.

"Following you."

"I'll not make a contract!"

"Hey, as far as you're concerned, I'm just a traveller that happens to know you that's happening to go in the same direction."

She gawped at him before giving a frustrated, "_Mortals_."

* * *

_Days passed by, and the children lamented to each other about their horrible fate and their forced labour, until one day, a Swan Princess came before them._

_She claimed that her form was forced by the hermit, and though her spell was too late to reverse, the brothers could be helped. She advised them to take her food, and not the ones she provided. The brothers obeyed, hoping to be home soon._

_The__y did as instructed, but they seemed only to get weaker, and the hermit stronger. But on the third day the spell broke, and the children escaped back the way they thought they came._

_But when they did, they found their home abandoned and wrecked as if a thousand years had passed, or worse, a thousand horse hooves bearing the fire of the Imperial knights._

_They returned to the forest, frightened and unable to be sure of what to do. Then the Swan Princess gave to them another piece of advice._

"_Earn some years off the Hermit, for he is immortal. Work for him, and be his familiars, as I am now, and one day you will find peace."_

_The siblings reluctantly agreed, but so far, surprisingly, they haven't regretted it_.

* * *

**And another thing. I watched Avatar yesterday (OH MY GOD YOU SHOULD SO WATCH IT IT IS BLOODY AMAZING) and... am I the only one who was internally laughing because the BLUE aliens that occasionally GLOWED were called the NA'VI? Because it jsut made me laugh, so hard.**

**...You think that was intentional? Because if it was I'd worship the fellow Zeda-loving concept writer. Or whatever. **

**REVIEW REPLIIIIIEEEESSS! XD**

**_DownMoon_: True, Februery can't come soon enough, but hey, I cam in Jan! Half the time, lol. Hope you like. ;D**

**_Hellotoday_: Hey, hi again! Thanks for the compliment, I hope you come back with mor feedback! ;)**

**_LadyAlamantia_: Ahahaha, he _was_ in sense mode the only problem was the rain washed the tracks away. I'm not quite sure that's how it really works, but hey, i can always say it's artistic liscence or something. And I hated those things too. _Especially _when they did the bad juju call. Ugh. Isn't there like a minigame at the goats... oh riiiiiight, you ride Epona for that. You're right, it is sad. (T_T) ah well, we get to pat them and they baa. XD I like Link as the pack-leader. Hee. Gives great ground for paranoia and over-protectiveness. And yes it was Navi. You will find out soon. Enjoy!**

**_NinjaSheik_: Hahaha, I updated as fast as I could, believe me. Hope you enjoy!**

**_Teriyaki Chicken_: Yes, yes, Februery. But I came through on the blitz, so forgive me? And enjoy the show!**

**_S.A._: Yay, new people are always welcome! XD Hahaha, thank you for the comp, and I hope you stick around. I hope also that the trying to hate Sheik part will lesson as the story continues. Thanks for reading, and hope you enjoy!**

**_Melthefangirl_: I commend you for your iron will! Just for that you're awesome. And thank you so much for your compliments, honestly reviewers like you (like ALL of you, really) make my day. I hope you enjoy this one too. **

**Please review!**


	8. The Road to Camelot

**Heyaaaaa! IIIIIIIIIII'MM BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!**

**OHMIGOSH YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW GREAT IT IS TO HAVE MY INTERNET BACK! \(TOT)/**

**Five weeks of being in the middle of nowhere at the edge of the world was fun, if tecnologically lacking. And it was beautiful. So, so, beautiful. I saw stingrays and birds of all shapes and sizes, caught cod on a fishing rod, went on an eight hour tramp (not doing that again for another year) and had the amazingest (yeah I know that's not a word and I don't care XD) views the whole time. **

**But it wasn't all fun. Had to weed, cut some trees down (they're evil so that's okay), witnessed and _smelt_ a few-days-old corpse that looked suspiciously like the reincarnation of bambi (though it could've been a sheep) nearly got lost in the wilderness, sunburn (it's summer over here. nearly ending though) oh, and the sandflies.**

**F-KERS!**

**Honestly! Sandflies are evil, EVIL BASTARDS! Mosquito bites last, what, two, three days tops as long as you don' scratch it. These bites last two to three freakin' weeks. And they're NOT reppelled by insect repellent (well, not AS MUCH) and soothing creams don't work because they're manufactured in places where they don't HAVE sandflies.**

**GEEZ!**

**anyway, yeah, sorry for being gone so long. I missed fanfic. I wrote some thre, so I might get an early update after this one. I like to think this chapter is somewhat fluffy, so I hope you all enjoy!**

_**

* * *

**_

_**The Road to Camelot**_

_One day, the Queen's guard went to hunt and they captured a Wildling as big as a horse, with a mane like bleached bones. Proud of this rare catch, the hunters ordered the Wildling to be taken to the castle, where it was locked up for safekeeping in the dungeon. This done, a proclamation that whosoever should dare to set the Wildling free would surely be put to death was put out, as the Queen was away and had yet to see it._

_Next morning, the Queen came back and suspecting something was amiss, went down to see what had become of her captive. When she found the den empty, she flew into a great passion and fiercely demanded to know who had presumed to disobey her royal command.  
The young girl, the Queen's second cousin, stepped forward and confessed that the pitiful crying of the poor creature had so moved her heart that she had opened the door, thus sealing her own death._

* * *

The pace was steady and relentless. Link was hard-pressed to keep up on his aching leg. She didn't pause to eat; she wordlessly un-shouldered her bag, extracted a morsel and chewed, walking all the while. Link couldn't do much else aside from copying her and wish that his legs would stop screaming at him.

They spent their time together in silence, the sun sloping up and down, the dark eagerly encroaching. When sunset threatened she moved into the bushes, dumped her things, rolled out a mat and collapsed onto it, curling into nothing but her cloak.

Link dutifully strung their things from a few branches so the rats couldn't get to them, left a hefty log (if there was one nearby) for a fire to eat through the night, and once he healed his legs so they wouldn't ach so much in the morning, rolled out his own mat and blanket to sleep in.

When he woke up, he wasn't surprised to find that she was gone.

Still pissed off, Link got his stuff ready with a piece of meat between his teeth, turned wolf and followed her scent.

…,…,…

"Did you _really think_ that I'd stop following you if you took off on your own? Really? If that's the case you obviously haven't heard of reverse psychology, it's a new thing that's being discussed in the cities, pssht, like you'd know that, but it's this thing where you encourage them to follow you and they feel rebellious and they stop wanting to follow you. _So_, if you really wanted me to get the hell away, I think you should've woken me up, grinned that feral, evil smile of yours and went, hi Link welcome aboard, now let's go kill those evil bastards, hey, I'll even let you do all the killing and stabbing and I'll sit back and watch while you do all the messy bloody work! Now that would've put me off a whole lot more than you disappearing in the middle of the night, because then, as you can probably see, I am _pissed off_. I am pissed off, Sheik, so just to spite you, and to satisfy my own worries, I am going to follow you to the depths of hell."

A deep, deep breath.

"And you know what? You're not the only one who cares. I like those kids, as much as they annoy me and drive me up the wall they're good kids. Beth's too smug, Luda's too uptight Agitha's plainly weird and Malo is a conniving little brat, Talo's confidence is going to get him hurt and Colin's got to stand up for himself if he wants those annoying brothers to leave him alone, but they're good kids and I like them and you're not the only one who wants to get them back! I mean _come on_ what is so wrong with working with me? I'm a city boy, I'm ignorant about a lot of things but who knows more about civilisation? Me. Who knows how these villages and trading posts work? Me. Hell I bet you don't even know the Queen's knights are sometimes out here prowling round for people who try to avoid the tax and I assure you my dad was one of them and he was _real_ good at it. I can be useful! Why don't you see that!"

Finally he caught sight of her. He cupped his mouth and hollered, "_Sheik_!"

In the distance she turned around and cursed.

…,…,…

She'd been reaching up to touch her shoulder, but catching his gaze she changed course to lightly brush her hair. Link moved a little faster. "Sheik, stop a minute."

She marched on.

"We should look at your shoulder."

No response.

"Sheik!" Link snapped, grabbing her _other_ shoulder, "I know you can hear me!"

She shrugged him off, roughly. "I've healed."

"Of course you have."

She didn't reply, gritting her teeth with ire.

"Five minutes. Two at least. Do you want to face those things all worn down, one arm completely useless? Because that is a future I can see without a crystal ball."

She glared at him, black lips tearing up, teeth barred, eyes wild, clearly wishing to contradict him physically and violently. But she sharply turned away, walked a few paces, and sat on the grass beside the track, putting her things moodily to the ground. Link sighed in relief and sat behind her as she shifted her hooded cloak and let him see the bandages.

He unwrapped them carefully, using some water to unstick it from the thin deku oil.

"It's scabbed," he told her, tapping the surface, "But try not to move it so much alright?"

"And how will I know I've got all my muscles back without moving, pray tell."

"It's either that or heal slow."

"I want full mobility when I meet those mortals."

The young man sighed. "How often are you going to use your magic to get this better?"

"Often."

"Halve it."

"_You dare_-!"

"Let me do it instead. I think I got the hang of it." He lightly touched the giant scab with his palm and thought, _heal_. Nothing outwardly exciting happened, but he was sure some swelling had died round the wound. He grinned. "Okay, let's go."

"Wait a minute!" she cried out even as he stood and walked away, "How- you _can_ heal!"

"I practiced on my legs, and my arm's gotten better, I think. And yes, I did that because I have a motive. Two, actually."

She gritted her teeth, but he knew that she had to listen, because she'd accepted his demands to look at her, and she'd trapped herself in a 'contract'. They stood, glaring at each other, and Link lifted two fingers. "For one, we know that I'm the better fighter, but you've got the magic. I can take two, three at the same time tops; you can take on five. I want you to have as much magic as you can by letting me heal you, so you can beat them. And I want to watch."

Sheik scowled. "I intended to do that anyway. That's not a good motive."

Link gave a theatrical sarcastic shrug. "Good to confirm that mortals are stupid, isn't it?"

She didn't like his tone. It was real easy to see in her glare. "And motive number two?"

"Motive number two: _Stop ignoring me_!"

She snorted and kept walking.

…,…,…

It took him a few times to realise that Sheik was trying to get his attention. "Mwa?"

"I wondered aloud that you seemed to be deep in thought, mockingly, I might add," the fairy explained slowly, "And now that I was inadvertently right I'd like to know our thoughts."

For a second he considered not telling her his suspicions—it would only stress her more, he supposed—but now the thought wouldn't leave him till he let it out, and he'd been treated like dirt for too long, he reckoned. It was time he bit back.

"That blue light. You said it was Navi, a fairy."

A bitter scowl lowered her brow. "Yes."

"You said you made a contract with Navi, to take them somewhere safe when they were in danger, and you were sure that she knew exactly what she was doing."

The scowl deepened with hurt as she snapped, "What of it, mortal?"

"Could the contract be changed by a third party?"

The thought, the revelation, the _possibility_ brought on a look, that even Link who couldn't read people's faces to save his life, could see that blatant fear. Then it twisted into something wild.

"The contract is none of your business. _Stay out of it_."

A vindictive part of him was somewhat pleased that he'd riled her so much, but still he found himself looking away and muttering, "Sorry."

And he meant it.

…,…,…

Link woke up gasping, dread and fear and guilt clogging his throat.

He'd killed.

It was in defence. It was to protect the kids. They were bad people. They'd deserved to die. But still it felt wrong, still he felt tainted. He could convince himself his first kill was painless, but it couldn't be said for his second; screaming, clutching at his bleeding head.

He couldn't sleep. His hands shook, he felt sick. At this rate he'd only slow them down, lose whatever chance they had at getting the kids back.

Link slept as a wolf. He didn't have to worry about a blanket or a mat this way, and his dreams were minimal and his instincts eased his guilt.

…,…,…

Link sniffed the air and growled. Sheik held her staff, ready to fight.

In the distance they could see specks. Big moving specks. Horsemen. From their highly reflective features, armoured knights.

It was too early in the morning for this…

"Too many," Link growled as well, kicking the ashes of the fire with his hind-legs, "We hide. Now."

She gripped her staff. "I am not going to _hide_."

"Too many!" Link insisted. "Weapons, power, horses, everything! Hide! _Now_."

She glared at him and stood. The wolf could see that she'd done it too fast; not enough blood was in her system anymore, she lilted with dizziness. And her cast was weighing her down.

But she stood resolutely, glaring with burning eyes at the oncoming specks. "They're in the way. How long till they pass?"

Not quick enough for her patience. Link knew that.

"Fine!" he spat, "Stay here. I'll bait them."

"Bait-?"

The wolf sprinted out, plan half formed. The horses were thundering his way, and he was going towards them lightning quick. It didn't take as long as he'd suspected it would; he lunged and wrapped his teeth round a sheathed sword.

Then he simply ran back the way he came like a sick game of fetch, as the knights hollered in outrage and the horses screamed in horror, and he could hear the arrows being pulled back on bow strings.

None hit. Link suspected that Sheik had something to do with it, but that hardly mattered. As soon as he got near their camp-sight he dove into the bushes on the opposite side of their road and scrambled away.

He came back another ten minutes later, human, sighing, his new proper weapon in hand.

"To think," Link groaned, massaging his thigh, "That we hadn't even had breakfast yet."

Sheik snorted.

…,…,…

"Why did you come to Ordon?"

Link looked at her. It was the first time she'd started a conversation. "We came to Ordon because it was all we could afford, or so dad said."

Sheik snorted, unimpressed with his answer. "I saw your house, Wolf. It was grander than those of Ordon; I know little about manners of money, but I think the travel to the likes of this province would have cost you more than the house itself. Or am I wrong?"

"You're not," Link agreed, scratching his head, "My dad, he's… kinda going nuts. I think he got so used to luxury that without it he doesn't function right."

A delicate eyebrow rose. "Luxury?"

Link winced. "I don't remember much, but… we used to live in the Queen's Castle. But it was ages ago! We left after Zelda was two! I don't even know what she looks like!"

Sheik's snarl subsided somewhat at his panicked insistence, but she asked with suspicion, "Why did you move away?"

"I don't know. I was what, four years old then? Dad probably insulted somebody and got kicked out, us with him. We lived at Lake Hylia for a while. It's… nice, there. Really. But mum died."

She shied from him, as if the admittance of death could manifest and hurt her. "Oh."

"From sickness, I think," Link frowned. This was a memory he would've liked to forget very quickly. "Only a few years at Lake Hylia and she was gone. We moved. The estates overseas dwindled. We moved again. I don't know why he wanted to move, so much, like he was running from something, which, fair enough, running from memories is hard, but he kept _insisting_ on some sort of luxury, horses, books, food, name it, he's asked for it. Didn't succeed much, obviously. The one luxury he was allowed in Ordon was to keep away from the 'filthy commoners'." Link rolled his eyes. "Like he was any better."

"So why Ordon?"

"It was the only place where he hadn't run to yet."

…,…,…

"There's a question my nurse would've asked you."

Sheik threw another log onto the fire. "And what would that be?"

"…Who did you lose?"

She froze, and her gaze was incredulous and wary when she looked at him. "What?"

"She took us to market, once, and there was a kid who stole from my sister, this trinket, can't remember what it was. It was worthless, but I'd made it for her, so I chased him round, found him giving it to this old guy, with a pigeon on his shoulder. They were in this den, an abandoned space between some slum houses. My nurse, Fanadi, she found me, looked at the old guy and said, 'Who did you lose?' straight up. He started crying."

"What does this have to do with me?"

"Fanadi told me that people like that, saving others, aren't just saints; they have a reason. Like you often say, a motive. An unconscious decision, maybe, but it's still there. The old guy'd lost his son. He wanted to make up for it by looking after the kids in the slum."

"So… you're assuming that I look after my familiars because I need to 'make up' for something that happened to me?"

Link shrugged. "I'm just trying to figure you out. And it just… it made sense."

She gave a huffing laugh as she stared at the fire, the flames flicking flecks of crimson and gold through her hair. "No, Link, I've lost no one."

The Hylian suppressed his disappointed sigh, and was rewarded for his efforts, because if he had he would've never heard her whisper:

"It was them that lost me."

…,…,…

Link made sure she was asleep before he slunk into the dark, eyes darting over the grass as he crawled on his stomach, quietly searching, hunting.

In the morning Sheik woke to the smell of cooking meat, and Link was poking the flames as two rabbit carcasses roasted beside it.

"Morning," he greeted, as he turned one of them, "Hungry?"

She winced and reached a hand over her scabbed shoulder, healing it a little more, "How did you…?"

"I went to hunt. Do you want to eat or not?"

She blearily stumbled to the fireside, accepting the meal. She eyed it, and then him warily, as if she didn't know quite what to do with it. She told him bluntly, "I'm still not going to do as you say."

Link rolled his eyes as he ripped at his breakfast.

…,…,…

It was past noon when they met a road, despite going cross-country. It didn't really matter, since they were going the right way anyway, so they followed it a little to ease their footfalls, but then it branched in two, signs pointing the way. One was for Kakariko.

The other was for Castle Town.

The was Sheik stared at the post made Link want to grab her hand and lead the way, but he _had_ said that he 'was just following her' and he couldn't risk her not thinking that, not when she still didn't trust him.

The fairy turned from the fork in the road, and stepped away from the way to the capitol.

A few steps and she turned back, eyebrows raised as she speculated his astonished face.

"Did you think I could not read your letters, Hylian?"

"Um, no, I mean yes, um…"

"You can be so moronic," she muttered as she carried on.

Link followed with a petulant scowl.

…,…,…

The problem with travelling without a road was that there were a whole lot more obstacles. Rivers were one of them.

Especially wide ones too.

"Brilliant," Link griped, dropping his pack to the ground so he could rummage through it, "Just brilliant."

"If I were on my own this would be nothing to me," Sheik hissed, glaring at the swift river.

"Well that's just nice," Link spat at her, tire and frustration making it impossible to be friendly, "Bloody wonderful, really. If you could demonstrate, then maybe you'd be rid of me. Bu-bye."

She haughtily eyed him before stepping into the river.

Link didn't watch her, at first, getting his cloak out and wrapping it round his pack so it'd take the brunt of the wet. Then he tied it round his shoulders and reached for the metal contraption that'd change him into a wolf, and froze.

Sheik was walking on the water.

Wait. No. He'd half forgotten that she could fly; she was just skating over the top. But there was something too stiff about the way she crossed, something…

The blood inside him went cold. She wouldn't last. She'd been healing herself too recklessly, she wouldn't last.

Link yanked on his cuff and dove into the water just as Sheik slipped and fell without so much as a gasp.

The water wasn't so fast, but she'd plunged right in the middle, the swiftest part, and it was carrying her away like a piece of drift wood that Link could barely clamp his teeth into. He grabbed where he knew she wouldn't be hurt, and that was her cast. She coughed and retched as he manoeuvred himself under her and kicked with all four of his legs, thrashing to get to the other side.

It wasn't that far. Here was a bend and a long stretch of earth gently sloping into the water, opposed to their quick and deep dive, and they clambered onto dry land like drowned rats.

Link tactfully didn't mention what she'd said earlier. She was probably right anyway; she just wasn't strong enough at the moment.

She lay in the grass, breathing forcefully slowly, and her image of vulnerable mortality shattered as she opened her eyes and the flat red fairy eye watched him without iris or pupil.

"I change my mind."

The wolf blinked. "What?"

She closed her eyes and shifted her position on the ground, placing her weight away from her scabbing shoulder and cast-imprisoned arm. "I was wrong."

The sharp jaw unhinged. Was he really _hearing_ this? "What?"

"I still don't believe you," she shrugged, "But I think I don't have to keep my guard up."

After that admittance that _she was wrong _made him so warm from the inside that it made him forget about the cold. A smile that was more a smirk of relief and victory twitched his canine face. "Sheik."

She scowled. "Don't sound smug, mortal. I'm still watching you."

He snorted. "Watch all you like."

…,…,…

Drying in the sun, they walked.

"Wait… do you know what happened to the chicken?"

"What chicken?"

"The chicken the kids bought from Faron, you know, when you were away?"

"They bought a chicken?"

"…Are we going anywhere with this conversation?"

Sheik gave an incredulous laugh. "You call _this_ a conversation?"

…,…,…

She didn't cry a single tear.

When her scab cracked and bled she grunted, but that was it. When he chipped her cast off and checked her arm over for crooked bones, she didn't even whimper when he poked the bruises. When she collapsed of tire her whole face angrily screwed up, but she took a deep breath and kept moving. In the night, when he jerked awake from bad dreams, there was no trace of sobbing. Her eye was so red in the first place he could never tell if it was bloodshot or not.

He wondered whether she would've cried if he wasn't there.

…,…,…

He stared at the stars. "You love them, don't you."

Her reply was sleepy. "What?"

"The kids. You love them."

"Mmf. Love. Such a simple word…"

"Well, why else would you chase them?"

"Obligation… duty…"

"You care about them."

"…Yes."

Simply: "Then you love them."

Link was determined to have the final word on this, so was a little surprised of the quiet that followed, and the whisper that held worry.

"Do you think they know?"

"Of course. And if they don't, you can tell them as soon as they're free."

Again, silence, till she shifted under the blanket and gave a soft sigh. "Yes. I'd like that."

…,…,…

Her expression was mask-like, frozen, as she asked, "How many days has it been?"

"Four, maybe five."

"Five. Five days. Alright." And she walked almost imperceptibly faster. Thankfully Link had healed his leg by then, so he could walk beside her just fine. But she was showing signs of a limp, and the Hylian was dutifully worried.

"You should rest."

"I can't."

"You don't have to do it now. When we hit a river, or find some shelter. You have to give yourself an hour-"

"An _hour_!"

"Halve it then," Link persisted patiently, "At this rate you'll hurt your feet, and I mean both of them. You know you can't fly yet, you have to-"

"_I can't_!" she snapped and she was definitely walking faster, and he could feel her nerves thrumming in the air, "Five days, five days, that's enough to sell them to different families, they had a day ahead of us they could be anywhere, they could all be hurt they could be _dead-_"

He took her wrist and turned her round, shushing her as he held the other, not letting her break free, "And we'll make them pay if they are. But we can't save them or avenge them if you're knackered, Sheik."

"I can't. They're all I have. They're all I have, Link."

He rubbed her arms comfortingly. "But right now they have each other, right? They make a good team. They'll look out for each other, right?"

He let her go. She pressed the heel of her palms against her temples, and nodded once.

"Come on," he coaxed, guiding her back onto their 'path', "There's a stream close by. We'll soak our feet for half an hour, we'll heal some blisters if you have any, because I sure have a few. I'll see if I can make your shoes more comfortable, and we'll go again."

"Why are you like this? You've nothing to gain, and yet…"

"It's called kindness, Sheik. You're not the only one who has it in buckets."

He grinned at her puzzled gaze, warmth bubbling in his stomach.

She'd called him Link.

…,…,…

It was downcast when they woke. It got worse from there.

A dribbling noon saw Link tightening his cloak round him, and Sheik doing the opposite.

Link looked at her and shook his head to clear the confusion. "What are you doing?"

"I feel filthy," was all she said as she folded the tattered red hood into her pack.

Link blushed at the sight of her tunic; she'd altered it when he'd been asking around at Ordon, it seemed, because there was a massive hole that laid her back bare. He couldn't help but think it was less tunic and more apron.

Oh gods, oh gods, "You're not-?"

She continued to walk, leaving the rest of her clothes alone. Link sighed in relief.

In an hour it was pouring down, and while he was safe under wraps, she was soaked to the bone. But she seemed to revel in the downpour, facing the sky as she walked, eyes closed, her palms turned up to receive the sky.

It was like everything about her relaxed for a single delicate second, her frame, guard, composure, and Link's heart sunk at the pain on her face. She looked so _ready _to fall apart, so ready to scream at everything, but her guard came up again; in a second she was just enjoying the balm of the cold, her expression blank and impassive.

When they reached some shelter Link pulled his blanket out and wrapped her up, gently drying her down. Her dark cherry red eyes were wide and surprised under her plastered hair of starlight, and he cleared his throat nervously as she silently accepted his help.

Link placed his mat underneath hers so it would stay dry. Her blanket went under his so the rain couldn't dampen it as well. That night Sheik lay flush against his furry side, face cuddled into his shoulder, and he made sure to listen for chattering teeth and a calm breath before he settled his jaw against his paws and closed his eyes.

…,…,…

It occurred to him in the middle of the night that there was a rule about men and women and propriety, and even if he knew that nothing would happen between them, sharing the same blanket and mat with Sheik would've been considered a big no-no. But he supposed too, with her being a fairy and him being a wolf, it didn't technically count.

Besides, he enjoyed her warmth and scent too much to move away, now.

…,…,…

As he was staring at the dawn, Link couldn't help but feel a little disgruntled. The brushes of scarlet against the purple and navy seemed off. It wasn't… _quite_ right. It shouldn't be there. Somehow the crimson didn't belong, or wasn't quite brilliant enough, or… something. The wolf closed his eyes to sleep a few more hours, telling himself he was being delusional.

When he woke up again he sighed and shrugged the blankets off, biting the manacle and sliding it off to change back into a man. He got about readying the meat—he was sorely missing bread right about now—and scrunched his face at the clots of burgundy, the dried blood from earlier catches. He was getting sick of blood, and not because of the killing either. The colour worried him.

He had no idea why.

The fire he built didn't seem bright enough. He scratched at his head, annoyed with his dissatisfaction with _everything_, and maybe he should've slept a little more…

"Ugh…"

Link turned and noticed first the smile on her face, small and full and black as the night that'd just departed. She blinked sleepy eyes open, carefully brushing hair over her right fairy eye, and stuck her pink tongue out impishly. "More meat?"

Link gave a sigh of relief as he gave a wry nod. "Yeah. We're pretty close to Kakariko though, we might get there today. We'll get ourselves some bread then."

"Not bread," she whined, "You mortals have the oddest things in bread. I want berries, a nut, a slip of lettuce, _honey_! Oh what I would do for honey…"

He chuckled as he stirred the fire, which seemed to quail as she came closer. "Well, we'll see what we can do, huh?"

"Mmm…" she sprawled over the ground and smiled at him, her ruby eye shining.

What idiot expected all the red in the world to compare with the fairy's gaze?

…,…,…

Smoke was from the edge of the horizon, at the foot of a mountain that'd never seemed so close till that morning.

"Kakariko."

"Yep."

"What is our battle plan?"

Link licked his lips, worrying just how literal a battle Sheik was willing to make it. "It'll take a while to find the arena-"

"Base."

"Base, then, so, I think we should talk to Navi first. Where did you leave her?"

"At the highest point in the city, in a singing house I built her."

Link gave her an incredulous glance and demanded, "People don't notice it _how_?"

"It's very small."

"…Right…"

She gave him a look of displeasure. "Battle plan, please."

"Yes, battle plan, yeah," Link muttered grouchily, "I have the knight's sword, a few arrows left, and, you have some limited magic. So do I, now that I think about it, but I'm not sure what I'm capable of."

Then the niggling thought came back, swarming from the day at the river, how vulnerable Sheik had looked sprawled in the grass. It sat there bugging him as he asked, "What're you capable of anyway?"

"You're meaning?"

"Can you set things on fire just by looking at it, for instance?"

She snorted. "Hardly. My magic is influence, nothing more."

Link rolled his eyes. "That explains everything, so well."

"I can influence what I touch." She shrugged, flexing her fingers. She was still testing her half-healed arm, which no longer sported broken bones but a few bruises spotted her skin. "My touch is my weapon. I can't force sleep on you, say, if I were three steps away. Only if I touch you. I can summon a flame by influencing a tiny speck of air between my fingers to heat. I can make a stick believe it's alive again. I can draw a circle in the dirt, and influence it to repel unwanted attention, or cage a creature in. Little things."

"What do those other fairies do?"

She blinked and gave him a dubious look. "What?"

"I don't even remember their names anymore, but those… balls of light. You look… nothing like them. Do they even eat? Sleep?"

He knew she knew what he was thinking, what he was subconsciously accusing her of. She explained, slowly, "Our kind have three life-spans or states, as we don't actually die. The first is the Dawn. We have no mind, no personality, only an urge to survive, and invariably we glow a shade of pink. Like insects we flit without purpose, absorbing what life we came from plant life. I heard you mortals refer to them as Healers."

Alright, now he was confused. "Why?"

"When some living creature stumbles on a Dawner, especially if their life is in danger, our urge to survive is over ridden, and their essence is devoured by the creature. We stop existing and the creature is healed." She pulled an unhappy face, staring at the smoke of Kakariko. "Many a Dawner I saw bottled to be sold to your sick."

"And the next stage?" he pressed, unwilling to let her guilt-trips stop his questioning.

"The Wakers. We wake to a personality, a shade of our own. They do hardly much, learning the ways of the Sealie Court, the nature of other sprites, avoiding mortals. They _are_ able to heal, and perform little magics like providing blessings of protection, but the healing reverts them back to their Dawning stage. We avoid that at all costs, usually. That's why the contract system is placed between us and you, to avoid… attachments."

"And the last stage?"

"Fairy. The Great Fairy. It takes us centuries to mature to such a state, and we usually take the forms of mortals to contract their services for a price. Clean water, honey, exotic flowers and leaves. Groves to settle in, your coins to decorate our hair. Things like that."

"Do they eat? Need to sleep?"

"Hardly," she snorted, growing irritable, "The magic of the land flows in them. It's not a necessity."

"Then-"

"They have laws, wolfboy." She snapped, "I broke them. And unlike Luda my intentions were less than selfless. I don't even remember _what_ I did, my wings weren't enough for them. They had to blur my mind as well."

He didn't quite understand, but it was dawning on him dreadfully that he'd said something that he shouldn't have. "So you're saying…"

"They clipped my wings." She threw her hood over her head, hiding her eyes and hair, "That is why I need to eat and sleep and live as a mortal does. I was banished. Exiled. Understand?"

"U-um, I guess so…"

"Now come." She continued walking faster, teeth gritted. "My familiars are waiting."

Link stood there a moment and watched her back, recognising the cold he felt near her for the first time as her extreme sense of loneliness.

…,…,…

Kakariko was a town of odd circumstance. It was out of the way from the rest of Hyrule, yet it was considered a close second to Castle Town in population density. The ground was rocky and dry, so had little agricultural value, but was the producer of Hyrule's best vineyards and wine. It had a mountain next door named _Death_ (for goodness' sake) but the same mountain yielded shade in the summer, heat in the winter, and life-giving springs both hot and cold all year round. Giving the condition and position of the place, there should've been little variety of trade and easy, cheap accommodation.

It was anything but.

Link had missed the markets. He remembered running among the crowd pretending to be an adventurer being chased by, well, something nasty as he escaped through the forest of moving trees.

He winced out of his daydream as Sheik held his arm so tight it cut off his circulation. Her breath against his shoulder shuddered, and when she spoke it was barely over a whisper, "There are so many…"

Ah. He'd forgotten she was somewhat a hermit.

"Hey," he whispered back, "It's alright, I'm here."

She snorted as Link gently led her through. They coasted through the middle, cutting straight towards the other side of the stalls, the incessant noise of bargains and deals and goods juggling through the air, and many a person tried to get them to stop and take a look, or pickpocket them, but the result was the same: they failed through an ignoring Link or a quick spell from Sheik.

At the end Link allowed themselves to be pushed to the side, remembering that far street, but there was a jerk to his arm and they stopped, and panic knifed him when Sheik let him go. He spun round and she was still there, but she was holding something large and flat, and the woman behind the stall was expectantly looking at the both of them.

"Did that mirror catch your eye?" she grinned, scarves of every shade swirling every part of her, "There're beads to go with it, if you like."

"Sheik?" Link tapped her shoulder gingerly as he glanced from her to the shopkeeper. Despite the fact that her hood was down, Link really didn't want to risk anybody seeing the fairy's face in the glass.

Under her red hood, she slowly nodded and put the mirror down on the counter. "Forgive me, I, I can't afford this. But it's wonderful; I hope it catches another eye."

The lady was disappointed but smiled as her customers walked away, but that soon changed when another customer demanded to buy the mirror for three times its price.

The two finally entered a fairly quiet street and sighed. Link looked at Sheik with concern. "What's wrong."

She shrugged. "I just, never had a good look at myself before."

"…Oh."

"I was always told to hide myself amongst mortals, and I fully couldn't understand why. I looked much like one, after all. Then I got the children to describe how I looked, and now the mirror… I never knew what a monstrosity I am to your kind."

"You're not!" Link protested, realising too late he was being a little too earnest, "Umm… I, you look fine. You do."

"Says the wolf who was terrified upon seeing me."

"Well, we don't get people in your colour scheme a lot. Besides," he cleared his throat awkwardly before continuing, "The kids once told me that you're the most wonderful, smartest, prettiest person they know. And I… I don't disagree."

She laughed then, bitterly. "Oh, my dear, mortal wolfboy, your wondrous ability to lie astonishes me still."

"Where's Navi?" Link sighed, giving up on the concept of obliging her, "She close?"

"Come." She purposefully strode through the back street, artfully dodging a stray cat.

The cat purred against his legs so he picked it up carried it, deciding to deposit the creature somewhere near a food stall.

"Alright," he admitted to the purring ball of fur, "I lied about the kids. But I still don't disagree."

* * *

_The Queen was outraged, but could not kill her own kin for fear of Civil War. So she banished the girl with a maid of her choosing, and ordered her to leave the next day._

_The Girl, once receiving a letter of recommendation from her father, set out with her new maid. The woman that was the Queen-chosen servant made no complaints for walking while the child rode on her pony, for having less than the child to eat, and not allowed rest for hours on end._

_For when they reached a crossroad, the maid pulled a knife from her skirt and dragged the child down to kill her._

_But there was a roar and a screech as the pony ran away in fear, and there stood the Wildling, fanged and clawed and deadly as poison, tail lashing out to kill and destroy._

_The maid fled, leaving the cowering girl. But the Wildling laughed and extended a blunt claw to help her up, and it said, "Come. I'll lead ye where ye wish, for ye saved me from that prison. To your new home, I shall carry ye."_

_The Girl nodded and clambered onto the beast's shoulders, and was taken safely away. Away from danger she lived all her life, and they say the Wildling visited her home every year, and the Girl served him tea and muffins._

**Clearly I couldn't be stuffed thinking of a better sotry for this fairytale. lol**

**REVIEW REPLIES! (Wow I have a lot...)**

**_S.A.:_ Yaaay! XD Thanks so much! I love Sheik, you can do so much with their character and background. Okay, well, you can do that with naybody in this, but Sheik has that mystery, you know? Yeah, seriously. They're having a tough time, and I should give them a break soon, but I oh so love giving them a hard time... XD**

**_ZeebaNeiba_: WOOOT! XD Hahaha, I'm getting a lot of these messages of no, Twilight sucks. Probably because people who do like aren't bothering to reply, lol. YUS! I can be a millionaire! Take that whoever-wrote-Twilight! XD Thank you so much for your support, and I hope you continue enjoying thsi fic!**

**_NinjaSheik_: Hahaha, thanks! I thought a good emotional spectrum would get them going faster. Hoped it worked! And believe me, I updaated asn fast as I could.**

**_LadyAlamantia_: Avatar WAS cool, wasn't it? I wish the DVDs could be seen in 3d. (;_;) Indeed, Ilia needs toughening up. Though in her defence she IS just a measly farm girl. And she's the only character here that I can torture without getting told off, hee! Oh, oops. You must've been sending me slave-trade vibes, lol. Don't you hate it when you think, ooh! That's a n orignal idea! And then somebody uses itz? It's... kinda depressing. Anyway, hope you enjoy this show, and I haven't lost your interest because of the long delay.**

**_Downmoon_: Yaaaaay! XD Thank you so much! I never thought this Sheik would be found so appealing! And here's SOME Link/Sheik lovin', I suppose, though it doesn't warm up for a while... But it will get there! **

**_Rosewing86_: Another support of I hate Tqwiilight! XD I wonder if there's a group on facebook like that... Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the last seven chapters and you might bring me feedback again! See ya! :)**

**_The Invisible Fan_: Thankyou! **

**_Don't Cry over Spilt Milk:_ The Fairytale is a forshadowing thing that'll make sense later, hee. And thanks for that comment about detail, I'll check it out later. As for the giant long sentences... hmm, how to put it. I know the commas make it easier to read, I find that it breaks up the stream of consciousness of what's happenign, and to me it seems like it slows down the action. It's kinda like a pet peeve, or my own writing style. I'm trying to adapt it so it's easier to read, but I seem to not be succeeding, lol. Thanks for noticing it though. And thanks for all other comments and compliments! XD**

**_Andrhats_: Yaaay! XD Thanks for coming! And you're compliments really mean a lot to me, and I hope you keep reviewing, and you write another on eof your Zelda stories too! XD **

**_Naomi Takamura_: Okay. Um... Thanks? Sorry if the chapter was confusing, but I kinda can't fix it without you telling me... ah well. I hope you enjoyed it, atleast.**

**_Teriyaki Chicken_ Indeed you need an acount. Very much so . And sorry for the slow update. I hope you like!**


	9. The Genie

**Hello! I was going to update this on Wednesday, because this seemed to be the worst day to put a story up if you wanted reviews (only four this time...) But then I changed my mind, because where I live, it's my birthday in one in a half hours in relation to the time I post this up (that's ten thirty, right?), so yeah. Whee.**

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* * *

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_**Th**__**e Genie's House**_

_A poor cottager had nothing to give his son, so he walked with him to a crossroad and left him there the night. The Boy went into a great field, and a storm struck, so he sought shelter in a house. It was a robber's den and, fearing for his life, he persuaded them to take him as a servant. They set him to prove himself by stealing an animal from the travelling performer with only a can of syrup. _

_He took a can of stolen syrup and left the lid on the side of the road and spilt a drop of it further up the road. As the Beastmaster walked by with his goose, dog, lizard, and snake, only the snake noticed the lid. It seemed tempted by the smell but followed the entourage, until it came onto the spill in the fringes of the bushes. The snake left its master and went into the bush to find the can and was bagged._

_The master noticed the snake's disappearance; they backtracked, and the robber told the son that if he could steal the dog and the lizard next, they would take him into the band. With the threat of knives, the boy had to accept._

* * *

"This is it."

Link looked at where she was pointing, and a laugh bubbled in him, sure she was joking. There was no way, _no way_, that this was the fairy's house. Even if it made some twisted sense. After all, this place had concerts and holidays and choirs and instruments; of course it would sing, almost everyday.

"How the hell did people accept a _church_ as big as that pop out of nowhere overnight?"

Sheik snorted. "You flatter me if you think I have that power. I chose this house simply because it was the tallest, and Navi enjoys heights. I placed her house at its peak."

"…Oh," Link coughed and felt appropriately embarrassed.

"I was hoping to climb up and see her straight away, but," she saw the scattered throng of people and sighed. "I'd have to wait for darkness."

"That's… not so true, though," Link supplied, eyeing the doors to the church, "I bet these people are about to go for the evening service. That'll be in about…"

He found the sun-dial closer to the church, and dragging Sheik behind him they checked the time. "Soon. The doors'll open real soon. Come on, let's get out of here before they drag us in with them, wait till the choirs start singing, and then we'll sneak up."

"How?" Sheik asked him doubtfully, "When I set her into this place I flew."

Link stopped. "…Oh."

Sheik extracted her hand from his, admitting sourly, "I don't know whether I can make it up there either."

The Hylian chewed his lip. Of course the fairy was right; she was still recovering, and he knew for a fact that there wouldn't be any convenient ladders up the wall, since those were reserved for fixing the shingles on the roof. Damn it all, they didn't have _time_ they couldn't wait for nightfall…

"Inside. They'll have a storage attic. With a window. We can sneak in, go up as far as we can, and we'll climb the roof from the there. The noise from the service should cover our noise, and we _should_ be able to get in and out without being noticed."

Sheik looked at him, then at the church, and the people slugging into its belly. "It seems the best idea so far. And the only one."

"Oh, wait," Link clipped off his cloak and held it out to her. "You should wear this."

"But I have my hood."

"It's _red_, Sheik. They won't let you in."

Sheik took the cloak gingerly, and strapped it on top of her own cloak. The sharp movement of her hands made it clear that she wasn't going to take the red garment off, not a chance, so Link quietly waited till she covered up and was ready to go. She looked like she would drown in the thing, because she was so short.

"Alright. Let's sneak."

…,…,…

Link had never fully appreciated how _boring_ Temple services could be. For a second he thought he was completely out of his depth when they spoke something in the Old Language, but then it got worse when they freaking _translated it_. Sheik, beside him, was breathing in sharp, angry breaths under wraps, as if she were waiting for the opportunity to scream or run like hell through the backdoor.

"I hate you," she muttered, clenching her hands.

"Hey, it was _you_ who put your house right on top of my sister's figurative head," he whispered back, "She wouldn't _know_ I was here if-"

A person behind them made furious shushing sounds and Link guiltily stopped speaking.

As soon as they'd taken a step into the church, Link had been tackled. Not hard enough to topple him to the ground, but enough to force the wind out of his lungs and rattle a few of his ribs. "Link! You're here!"

He coughed and forced out, "Zelda?"

His sister let him go and beamed into his face, her smile the epitome of ecstasy. "It's so good to see you! You should've sent word before coming I would've prepared everything for you, oh, it really _is_ good to see you, Link. Come on, come on, sit down, this pew doesn't creak, and I can't believe you're just in time for the special service! I have to go and get ready, but watch out for me! I'm in the choir and I'll be helping with the libations, I'm getting better at it. See you afterwards!"

After which she quickly glided away and all Link could do was sit there and feel sick, torn between disappointing Zelda and hurting Sheik.

There was a sigh as the fairy sat next to him with a note of resignation. "You've endured me these last few days… I can't see why I can't endure you for how long this takes."

"Believe me," the young man moaned, "It'll be too long. Too long."

And it was.

It was nice sitting down and taking a break, but this was torture. He couldn't even black out whatever the priestess was saying, so strident was her voice, and there was nothing in the carvings and decorations of the place to fully distract him. Goddesses be damned, he wanted out, _now_.

Link nudged the fairy with his elbow to catch her attention, and he mouthed, "I'm sorry."

She twisted her lip and shrugged. She caught his hand, turned it palm up, and traced her fingertip over his skin. A shiver raced his spine and he would've taken his hand away if it weren't for the fact that she was writing a message for him.

_You can let me destroy this place for compensation_.

His initial instinct was to tell her not to, but then the priestess said something particularly loudly and faithfully. Link winced and wrote back PLEASE DO.

She paused, before writing back, slowly, _I thought you'd object_.

ME TOO. BUT WE HAVE GOT TO GET OUT OF HERE.

Sheik giggled. _I wasn't going to do it with people around._

THE BEST TIME IS ALWAYS NOW. He wrote back, grinning. BUT NO HURTING PEOPLE IS A GOOD IDEA.

_I was thinking the windows. Shatter them_._ Dramatic, no?_

Link chuckled back. COULD HURT THE PEOPLE ON THE SIDE. HOW ABOUT THE WAY WE CAME IN. BREAK THE STONES TO DUST.

_Then they wouldn't leave.__ Too scared to._

TRUE.

The silent conversation lasted for a while, long enough for the boredom to ebb, and the service to eventually end. As the people began to leave, Link leaned over, whispering into her hood, "We _were_ joking, right?"

Sheik snorted and quickly turned it into a cough so the civilians wouldn't be too offended. "Aw, and here I was, thinking that you'd turned as blasphemous as I."

She smiled, and his heart gave a twinge at the sight, and a wolfish grin broke his face.

…,…,…

"So?" Zelda prompted, "What did you think?"

"It was nice," Link lied, smiling at his sister, "How've you been?"

"Oh, you know, typical novice being picked on by the ugly mistresses," Zelda shrugged with a smile, "But things are going better, with me being acknowledged for my hard work and honesty and things… it helps that one of the higher matrons thinks I'm blessed by Nayru."

"Cool."

"What about you?" she prodded his chest cheekily, "Why the sudden appearance? Since you didn't send me a letter once, I thought you didn't care. You were never this tricky, dear brother of mine."

"Um…" Link scratched his arm and looked at where Sheik was snooping around without looking as if she was snooping around, and coughed. The one thing he wasn't going to do was lie to the one relation he cared about. "I'm just… helping a friend out. Long story."

"We have a long day left?"

"Well… it's complicated. Friend of mine was looking after these kids, right, and they got kidnapped and we were thinking they were brought here. So we're just… snooping."

She pulled a funny face. "You think the Church is kidnapping kids?"

"No! Well… um…"

"Link, you're doing that guilty tyrant posture. Come on, what's wrong?"

Goddesses be damned, this was painful and awkward and he had no idea whether he was doing the right thing. "We think there's a slave-trade going on in Kakariko. Don't worry, we're not accusing you. Sheik was here before they got taken, and, well, (he was careful not to call Sheik a 'she' or else Zelda was going to _really _disapprove) _we're_ pretty sure a clue's been left behind here. So. Um. Yeah."

Zelda bit her lip with worry, searching his face for a clue of her own. "Link you're not… are you safe?"

Link rolled his eyes and scoffed. This was familiar territory. "Hey, I'm the older brother here, I'm the one who should be worried about you, living so close to a slave-trade. What if _you_ get caught?" she frowned petulantly and Link grinned. "I know what I'm doing; everything's under control, really."

"Then who's this Sheik? Where is he?"

Link looked around, and was happy to point her out since it looked like the fairy'd stopped snooping. He chose his words carefully. "There. Uh, Sheik's a bit of a hermit, so best not start a conversation. Bites."

Zelda analysed the figure that hid under the travelling cloak, standing so close to the carved walls she was nose-to-nose with the patterns. Link wondered whether Zelda saw the dark skin or the flash of white hair, and vaguely worried about what would happen if Sheik actually blew up the wall, because where she stood was precisely the point they'd discussed demolishing to cause pandemonium.

"How'd you become friends, then?"

"Oh, you know," how to phrase this, he wondered, "Hunting round, stumbled near the house, threats and favours exchanged… I ended up teaching the kids to swordplay and Sheik fed me a little. It's been pretty cool."

Yeah, right.

Zelda sighed. She looked around and two old women in robes with glowering at her so she said, "I have to go. Now, I'm not supposed to know this, but this church has been hiring a few young people of unknown origin after especially large bouts of donation. They always get another job once they look presentable, because they always come looking filthy and undernourished, and they're extremely grateful and cry and all those things, _and_ they always hide the skin of their arms, even in summer. They always come from the direction of Death Mountain, on the eastern side."

"Not involved indeed," Link commented, to which she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Just be careful, brother mine," she said loudly, so the old women in robes could hear and loosen their scowls.

Link hurried to Sheik's side and tapped her shoulder. "Let's go."

"Hm," she nodded, hesitantly turning away from the wall, her fingers lingering on the delicate pattern. As they walked away to the deeper, darker end of the church, Link noticed her bemused interest and asked, worriedly, "Are you alright? You're not… _seriously_ considering blowing this place up, are you?"

"Oh. No."

"Because if you are, I want-"

"No! No schemes of explosions, I swear."

"Then…?"

"The wall," Sheik replied, turning briefly back to look at it before facing the way they walked, "It reminded me of my lullaby. What is it about?"

"Heroes," Link shrugged idly, "Chosen by the Goddesses, mostly. We have a few. First the Hero of Time, then we have Seasons and Winds, Lands, Dreams, Masks, though not in that order."

"I noticed that," Sheik agreed, "There were many figures, with different symbols. What I couldn't understand was the thing they bowed to. If they're Heroes, what exactly do they pay homage to?"

"The thing that _makes_ them Heroes," Link grinned. "The Master Sword."

…,…,…

The stairs had gone dustier and dustier as they climbed, and the window they climbed out of took a good few rams of Link's hard booted kicks. Thankfully no glass shattered, what with the thick-as wood.

It took a bit of scrambling for them to get to the top of the roof, but in the end they made it (somehow it was a whole lot easier for Sheik). Careful not to be seen by the people around the church, the two of them crawled over the apex of the church roof to where the church symbol was on display; a phoenix bird with the Triforce for its head.

In the blank triangle space was a stick, hanging out towards them, and dangling from it was a wicker ball, and below that a set of chimes, which clinked and jingled and sang as the wind blew by.

Sheik sat in front of her contraption and knocked the roof three times, like a door. "Navi. Navi I wish to speak to you about our contract."

There was a small, dim flash of blue in the wicker ball, and it unfurled to show a creature that looked like some sticks knitted together to look human. Then the wicker ball itself split in two and became glassy veins that glowed like the sky on fire, pulsing with power and beauty. The bundle of humanoid sticks was dwarfed; it looked more like a butterfly with an extremely thin and glowing body; nothing like the fairies from the books.

"Hello Sheik. How are you?"

"The children, Navi." Sheik spoke with forced patience. Link realised with trepidation that the very sight of the fairy was causing her to become _angry_, and he hastily clapped his hand on her shoulder, but she jerked roughly away. "The contract stated that with this singing house and your free passage to wherever, you answer the children's call and take them to a safe place till I can retrieve them. _What did you do_?"

"I did nothing wrong," the fairy stated primly, wings fluttering easily, "You changed the contract, remember?"

"I did no such thing."

"Then what did you send those children to me for?"

Sheik froze. Link hastily crawled to her side, clutching the top of the roof so he wouldn't slip on the shingles. "What did those kids say, Navi?"

The blue fairy fluttered. "They said they'd come in place of their mistress and their task was to confirm the contract and possibly alter it. I spoke it, and they held counsel, and they altered the contract as so: Once called, take their mistress to safety and give her a blessing of protection and guidance. I asked, out of curiosity, who would take them to safety instead. They named a sprite called the Skullkid. There was no confirmation whether the contract was to be kept the same, so I agreed. Besides, they gave me these lovely beads." They flashed on her wicker frame of wings, clear glass shot with little dots of rainbows. "I was obligated to accept."

Link saw that her hands were shaking, no matter how hard she gripped the roof's frame. "That was before me sending you here. I asked whether you understood my contract…"

"And I did. Though with previous gifts and this wonderful house I thought perhaps I was being overzealous. I took the initiative of giving them a blessing of protection and guidance as well. Is that all you wish to know?"

"… Yes." Sheik nodded, stood, and walked away.

Link scrambled and was about to tell her to keep her bloody head down, but she jumped off the other side, falling from view. Panic squeezed his chest, but he told himself she was fine, she could float for Furore's sake, so he told Navi thanks, slid down the side of the roof, and wriggled back through the window they'd come.

…,…,…

He found her huddling in her knees between the church's back door and its clothes bin. She didn't quite blend into the shadows, however, with her red hood. But it made her look like a painful stain on the wall, and Link sat quietly next to her, on the doorstep.

"You were right."

Link winced. "Seems so."

"I can't believe it. I trusted them to protect themselves, and they decide to play Deity and change it. I can't _believe_ it!"

She sounded so ready to cry. Link told her quietly that she was allowed to.

The fairy scoffed, her head still buried in her knees. "I'll not. A waste of magic. A waste of time. A useless show of weakness. They have a blessing, and that should do them some good; they _must_ be alive." She lifted her head, slowly, and she looked at him without expression. "What time is it now?"

"Four? Five?" Link shrugged, "It won't start to get dark for another hour at least."

"Then we have time," she muttered to herself as she stood, "Time to continue, to find them, maybe stalk a quarry to lead us to them. Where is this lead?"

"Death Mountain," Link said, taking her hand and helping her up.

…,…,…

The further north of the town they went, the dustier it got. The people had tried to grow pine here, but only made the soil worse, making it hard even for grass to grow. Scrub was barely holding onto the roadside cliffs, and there were a thousand river tracks on the road, the water unable to seep into the hard clay and give life back to it.

"I find it hard to believe," Sheik stated mildly, "That a whole 'arena' or 'base' could be hidden in a place this _bare._"

Link grunted, took a swig of water, and handed her the flask. She took it with quiet thanks, not really looking at him.

"Look," Link sighed, and licked his lips, "I know what you're thinking. They might not be there. I might be completely wrong. But there will be people there, who will have a better idea at what happened to them. We'll force it out of them, no matter what."

A tired smile twitching her face. "I hope you intend to leave all the force to me, mortal."

They kept a brisk pace for a good hour, till the scrub grew stronger and the wild forest that bordered the fields to the east loomed closer. The road was carved deeply into the cliff side, and branched. One way was well maintained, gouged with ruts from carriages. The other was barely a track; it was somehow wrong to call it a path, that it was 'branching' at all. It went down the side of the hill, into the thick scrub and bushes, and the only reason the two even noticed it was because they'd kicked some pebbles down said 'road'. The two looked at each other, and followed it.

…,…,…

Hard, shin-scraping weeds and scrub turned to face-slapping bush; in turn that morphed into a jungle of saplings and thick vines. But there was always a constant track, and broken branches too high for animals, markings in trunks made only by metal. As the shafts of light sloped ever lower, Link and Sheik rested their aching feet and set aside their packs. Link checked the stolen knight's sword for the first time for nicks or cracks or imperfections. Sheik grimly sharpened her staff into a spear.

Then she was trying to stuff the rest of her hair back into her hood, but it was proving improbable. She snarled and yanked her hair and nearly sheared it off if it wasn't for Link sudden "Hey!"

Sheik snarled. "What."

"Don't cut it. It… it'll only get in the way."

"I intend to cut it as short as yours so it won't _get _in the way."

"Wait, not, please," Link jumped to her side and stilled her weapon. "Ever heard of a plait?"

She blinked, tossed her hair from her face, and glared with her normal-as-it-can-get and totally-fairy eye with some suspicion. "A what?"

"I'll show you," Link sighed with some relief, "It'll collect all your hair like a rope. My sister once forced me to learn when Fanadi wasn't around and she couldn't do it on her own. It'll only take a second." He added hastily when it looked like she would disagree.

He even went so far as touch her hair without permission and start without her say so, carefully splitting her white hair into three and weaving them together. Last time he'd done this, the hair had been silky and impossible to keep together, but Sheik's hair was perfect, firm and tough and complying, and smooth almost in a wild way, like a pelt of an animal, soft and course at once.

His fingers brushed the nape of her neck, and Link quickly retracted.

Link tied the plait up with some convenient grass on the ground (Sheik wouldn't mind) and was happy with the fact that he'd been useful and the silver rope that touched the middle of her spine was one of his best works in hairstyling.

The fact that he'd been _wanting_ to do this was only a small bonus, of course.

After a quick examination, and a small smile, Sheik approved of it. She tucked her fringe back from the eye she usually hid, and draped the other. Before she covered her head with the hood once more, Link caught the glimpse of her, so much the same and yet so different, that a shiver crossed his spine.

In another ten minutes they entered a glade full of bustling men, a shallow but large pit to the right, and a camp of tents on its far side. But next to Link and Sheik were two rows of cages, with enough people trapped inside to populate a small village from the smallest child to the eldest man. Some wept, some snarled. Most were sitting there with a cloak of dejection wrapped around them, and hunger and filth laced their presence.

What sickened Link most was the _buyers_. The sellers fit the stereotype just fine; rough, scarred, cruel men and women, but the people that were weighing the prices for the people ranged from the nervous peasant to the richly dressed. That very moment a little girl, screaming, was being dragged away from a boy who could be a stranger or a brother, where a roaring fire breathed like a monster, metal brands glowing hot in its belly.

Sheik shook as she gasped. Link grasped her shoulder to restrain her. "First the kids. Then we'll raise this to the ground, I swear we will."

Link could tell she wanted to do it _now_, and fish her familiars out of the chaos they'd recognise in a heartbeat. But they could be grabbed and taken to goddesses knew where, and that was a risk she wouldn't take, not now.

She finally moved with a helplessness of a madman fighting for sanity, and she gripped the back of his shirt hard enough to tear. He hoped her anger and disgust would look like fear and worry to the slavers as he approached the pit.

The 'Arena' was an exaggerated glorification. There was nothing more to the pit then the platform that the slaves were forced to stand on, and the desk behind which the auctioneer stated the price and the merits of said slave.

Link sought out a bored face and approached carefully, murmuring encouragement to the fairy that had her teeth gritted so hard her whole body shook with murder.

"Hey."

The scrawny man that looked too snobbish and weak for this kind of place appraised the dirty-clothed boy scornfully. "What do you want."

"They sell kids here?"

A scoff. "Of course, though they hardly interest buyers."

"I was thinking of buying a few. Preferably six. You think you can help me?"

The man ruffled his delicate pencil moustache as he scoffed, "Do I look like a dealer to you? I myself am looking for an assistant and all this rabble just doesn't qualify! Uneducated trolls the lot of them."

The grip on the back of his shirt tightened enough to hurt. "Right, fine, I won't bother you. Just point out a dealer, will you?"

They left quickly. Sheik was muttering under her breath and it was clear she was _extremely_ close to making something violently explode. The dealer pointed out was talking to a friend, and he, Link, wondered how disgusting a death Sheik could cook up, and how long he could enjoy it before (realistically thinking) the guilt would catch up.

"Hey, you guys dealers?"

The two big men, as ugly as they were strong, looked at the impertinent possibly-teenager with the short red-hooded figure ghosting behind him, and grunted.

"I'm looking to buy some kids. Six of them; can you help me?"

"What you want kids for?"

"Heard they were cheaper. Builds loyalty, too." A quick but prepared lie.

"Why six?"

"Good number."

"Got the money?"

"I'll be looking at the kids first."

"Who's that there then?"

Link stopped short, since this was a question he wasn't prepared for. It was dealer number two, leaning towards Sheik. She moved like a wasp and batted him away, unlatching herself from the Hylian. "_Do not touch me_."

"A woman!" he crowed in glee, and the other chuckled in approval. Next thing he knew there was a shove and a hiss and a glare, a terrible icy glare, teeth that looked impossibly sharp in a Hylian mouth, and an almost growl as the boy nudged the girl further behind him, out of sight, his sharp piercing blue eyes cold and deathly. He was _furious_.

The dealers cleared their throats and muttered, "Anyway, kids, yeah, kids," at one another, trying to convince themselves that they weren't afraid.

"Link?" Sheik managed to whisper through her shock. The young man's muscles slackened a little at her touch but were still coiled, ready to spring.

Then Dealer One clicked his fingers, his face breaking into a smile. "Speakin' of six kids, remember them from two days ago? Weren't you the one handling them, Onox?"

Horror lurched into Link's gut, quelling his anger. Two days. They'd been late two days. No, wait, it might not be _them_, it might be…

"Yeah, got'em off Hans; seemed Dan'd left the business for good," he chuckled, drawing a thumb across his throat, "Gods, they were a handful. Couldn't pry 'em apart, a biter, screamer, kicker an' hell all else. Had to bundle 'em together and hope for a group sale."

"And then, here's the good part, they break out but 'stead a escapin' start yellin' threats at us, sayin' a witch was gonna bring this place ta dust an turn us all into frogs." There was a burst of brutal laughter that twisted the metaphorical knife. "There was more yellin by those two, somethin' bout… ah, bein' rich and that their daddies would come, right? Wouldn't be caught in the first place if they were so high up, eh?"

Lin gently took Sheik's hand and squeezed it. He forced a smile on his face as he said, "Ha, ha, funny. Those must be a handful, and the landlord always liked a challenge. How much? You probably want them off your hands, huh?"

"Already off our hands," they grinned derisively, "A regular snapped 'em up fair cheap. Only one that wanted 'em."

He fought the cold that drenched his mind, the heated squeeze of her terrified grip. "Where's your regular?"

"Hey, wait a second," one of them grumbled, "There's plenty here still. Show you round."

The fake smile grew tight, and the danger was back in his glare. "Call it instinct, but I want those kids. If all fails I'll be back with my money, ladies, so don't get your tights in a bunch, hm?"

They visibly tensed, muscles working to punch and pummel, brows falling with the weight of threats. But Link's whole savage face shouted _try it, I dare you, go on!_ and that settled it. Displeased, the dealers let them walk away, pointing out a man that looked too sensible to be around a place like this.

He wore what looked like a hunter's uniform, cut in a similar style to Ordon, and they looked well used. His face was knobbly, and his smile wasn't cruel, in fact it was almost sad. He pulled a white cloth band over his head to pull his hair form his eyes as he looked around just once more before walking away, and without talking about it the two decided to stalk him wherever he went.

"That," Link muttered, referring to the dealers, "Was close."

"I'll kill them," her voice was low and menacing and final. "I'll kill them."

"And I'll happily hold them down for you."

…,…,…

The plan was simple. Follow the middle-aged man, trap him some corner somewhere, and demand where the hell the kids were and what'd happened to them. They were beyond the point of talking nice. Sheik didn't care whether the man could've been kind to her familiars, didn't care whether he was a good man or not, and nor did Link, not anymore. Those kids had been caged like rats and humiliated in front of a heartless crowd; they deserved a good bout of vigilante action on their behalf.

And the man was making it too easy for them. He was going nowhere near Kakariko, in fact was going deeper into the older, wilder parts of the forests. That suited the two just fine. Less witnesses, more space to hide.

Together they circled ahead, as quiet as they could be. For Sheik it was easy; the soles of her feet barely touched the earth. Link lugged his naked sword, having thrown the sheath away minutes ago.

The Man was coming towards them, whistling a quick tune. Link and Sheik nodded at each other and they stepped away from their respective hiding places, barring his way.

Man stopped and regarded the boy and the obscure figure in red. His voice was light, reasonable, concerned, like a teacher's. "Is this a mugging?"

"Of a sort," Link agreed, crouching low, sword at the ready.

"Oh come now," chided the man as he studied them both, "You don't have your face covered like your friend there, whose weapon is primitive at best, and you're not even holding yours right, my boy. A mugging _of a sort_ indeed."

Link swallowed uneasily, shifting his position. This man was too calm. Too much at ease. And his grip on the sword was fine… wasn't it?

"If it's money you want, I don't have any. I'm just… passing by."

Sheik was striding forward before he finished his sentence, fingers clawed and gusting with strips of wind, "Passing by, _passing by_, a filthy lice-ridden slave trade everyday, why yes of course that's a simple _passing by_, you evil, foul, sick, disgusting _mortal_."

"Mortal," he repeated, almost tasting the word, "That's an interesting insult."

Everything about her billowed with air. Her voice was low, the promise of thunder, the hidden power of the eye of a storm. "You took what is mine and you will give them back or so help me I will-"

Link's misgivings grew worse. The man was _way_ too calm for someone facing a rabid magic-wielding person of unknown origin, power, motive, much less sanity, marching towards them like an unstoppable tide.

Without thinking Link was trailing her, eyes darting for the man's confidence and he saw his gaze flick up and Link followed what he was looking at and there were glints of light in the trees that had nothing to do with the leaves, and-Oh Furore.

Man had known he was being followed.

They'd been trapped.

His heart lurched, there was a whistle of something sharp slicing the air, as he threw his weight forward, reaching, lunging, desperately clawing for her, as the command transferred from his brain to his mouth too slowly, even if it took less than the second of a second.

"_Duck_!"

* * *

_The son climbed up a tree and dangled a piece of rope covered in syrup so it looked like a snake's tail, only so the lizard that rode the man's shoulders would see. It snapped at the rope and its jaws were glued stuck and the lizard was yanked from the Beastmaster's shoulder. The dog sniffed at the roadside where the lid of the can lay, and drawn in by the scent of syrup and lizard and snake, and as the lizard was tied, the dog was drugged._

_The man was seething. Goose in tow, he marched into the tree-line. The robbers said that they would let the boy free with money and food in hand if he stole it. The son made a sound like howling, and the man, thinking it was his lost dog, ran after the noise, leaving the goose alone. The robbers fell on the last creature, but there was an inhuman shriek that shook the trees, disturbed the earth and rattled the air, and the robbers turned to rats. The boy froze in terror as the beastmaster emerged from the trees, revealing him to be the Devil himself, and the animals his familiars._

_The boy in turn was transformed into a hare and was caged. The cage was dragged the whole way back to hell, and there he has stayed since._

* * *

**Anyway, review replies!**

**_S.A.M. Thedragongirl:_ Hee, thanks so much! I was kinda worried because this Sheik looks different to how Sheik is usualy portrayed, but now I don't have to worry! XD Hope you enjoy this chapter too, there's a tiny, TINY cute part involving said starlight hair. Enjoy!**

**_NinjaSheik_: Thank you~! Here it i~s! XD**

**_Teriyaki Chicken_: Hahaha, glad you noticed, though you could say that he's been warming up to her since chapter five... but yeah. Hope you like this cute bit!**

**_Wolfslegend_: Yaay! XD Go personalities. It's so hard having so many characters, the personalities end up blending if I'm not careful... (;_;) And here's the chapter, so hope you like!**

**So... review? Please? Come on, it's a pretty cheap as present.**


	10. The Robin's Camp

**Sorry for being a few days late, but hey, I just started uni! XD Okay, that's not so excitement worthy, but come on. Oh, and I failed my driver's theory test, when it's supposed to be easy. Irony is I only want the licence not to DRIVE but to use as ID. I am that sad, people. Sigh. :(**

**Anyway, there is action here, I think, and some emotion, and I will promise lots and lots of fluff for the NEXT chapter. Which might be a little late. What with getting used to Uni. And looking for a job. Gods be damned I hate reality. **

_

* * *

_

_**The **__**Robin's Camp**_

_Across from a moor near the forest there was a village, and at its edge lived a girl on her own, having lost her parents to the soldiers of the Crown. She was a beekeeper, and it was one of those ordinary evenings in which strange things happened._

_While she was picking some berries, two animals streaked across the moor, and she had to look really close to realise that it was a snake, chasing a rabbit. The furry creature ran straight for her, so she caught it in her arms and the snake hissed and spat, trying to reach for its quarry, but the girl picked up a long stick and chased it away. _

_Once the snake was gone, the girl checked the rabbit for injuries, and once she __found the cut in its side she cooed and carried it in, covering it in honey and herbs. The animal cried out in pain and their eyes met, and the girl was astonished, because the animal had blue eyes. _

* * *

He caught the hem of her hood and he grabbed it and _yanked_ it down and there was a loud rip of fabric and her yelp covered the soft thuds of arrows sprouting _way_ too close for his liking. "Sheik," Link gasped, "Are you-"

The man loomed above them and Link swiped his sword just in time to parry the one swinging down on Sheik's stomach twice, the second time forcing the older swordsman back long enough for him to stand and raise his guard again. "Are you alright?"

Quietly, shell-shocked. "You ripped my cloak."

Din, Nayru and Furore! "You're_ welcome_!"

"You ripped my mother's cloak."

By the Tri- _what_? "Your mu-?"

A hail of arrows rained down on them as fast as light but there was a billowing flash of red and Sheik stood beside him looking livid with arrows caught in her hood like fish in a net, the hideous rip in its side gaping open like a beastly maw. "My _cloak_."

Link interpreted that as _They will die_.

Back-to-back they stood for a precious second before they parted roaring at the enemy.

Link met the Swordsman's swings with his own, stepping back and forth circling round and testing the scraggly stranger's skill, which proved to be impeccable. Link found himself pressing desperately for an advantage, _any_ advantage, cursing his life of solitary training as he darted in and out of the man's precise jabs, hooking slices into the left side, putting his weight and power behind every blow to cover his lack of skill. In the corner of his eye he saw Sheik flapping her cloak left and right like a bullfighter, catching every arrow that came at them in the cloth and screeching manically as more and more holes riddled what Link was beginning to realise was far more precious than he gave it credit for. Her hair whipped like a trail of deadly snowflakes, her eyes bright as jewels. Link forced himself _not_ to be distracted as he fought off the tenacious stranger.

"There's more of them!" She spat as she yanked the arrows out of her cloak and threw them at the cavalry, the projectiles flashing orange as they sped faster and straighter than spears. The coming men were forced to take cover and dared not come any closer.

Left, down, left, right, up, forward, back, forward, back, back, back Link viciously pushed the man _back_ with everything he had but by the gods he was _tired_ he'd been tiring for days and never fully recovered, the climb up the church, the hiking, the dealers, they hadn't really had a proper rest that day and every muscle in him was complaining and his power-excessive blows were making it worse _he had to finish this now_ but the bloodlust wouldn't come, too scared at what might happen, not _stressed_ enough to go wild, not like when the kids had been kidnapped and he'd killed those two slave traders…

Sharp pain in his wrists ended it all. The stolen blade fell to the grass and Link hissed and clutched at his hands, unable to stop the adult from picking his only weapon up. The young man had a sudden, sick feeling that if he'd been holding the sword right the standard disarmer wouldn't have worked so well.

That thought was quickly forgotten as Link grew cold, the feeling coming from the look the stolen sword was receiving from the Swordsman, the way his gaze lingered contemplatively on the knight's insignia. "Well, well…"

Link turned and grabbed the fairy's hand and _ran_.

She squealed and would've tripped if it weren't for her magical nature, practically flying to keep up with Link's sudden burst of movement. She yanked her hand away and for a terrified second Link thought she'd turn back and keep fighting but she stayed, oh thank the gods she stayed, and shielded them both from the aerial assault from the trees.

"What are you doing?"

Link swallowed dry spit and gasped, "Retreating."

"_What_!"

"I can't beat that guy in a fair fight, he's too freaking _good_! Din be damned he knew he was being followed, Sheik, and he had a bloody trap waiting for us in _seconds_ with Nayru knows how many cronies, and we're way over our head."

"_You can't-_!"

"We have to! They catch us, we're done for. We still have a trump card, we're lucky they haven't seen your face and _shit_!" he skidded to a stop as he saw people in the distance, and abruptly pulled the fairy and himself to the left. He could feel them gaining, he could _actually_ feel them gaining and it was driving him insane and by the gods he was tired and aching and Sheik, he could feel her too, desperate to attack them all for everything, _everything_ they'd done to her and _they needed to hide right now_ bloody Nayru why wasn't there a big bush or a hollow log or anything-

CLIFF!

Link kicked out and braced his collision, spinning round and catching a squealing fairy in his arms and he panicked because he knew the swordsman and bowmen were on one side and the cavalry on the other as he pushed Sheik behind him against the stone wall.

Choking on his parched throat and the smell of his own sweat, Link shoved his hand into his pocket and grabbed the bundle of rags and the manacle, but his hands were shaking with tire so he shoved it into Sheik's hand, wiping the sweat off of his face. "If the Bossman is in the clear, clamp it on and we'll take him hostage. And hide your head; we'll need as much surprise as we can get."

"But-"

"I need you, Sheik, please, stay quiet, follow my instructions or we _will_, be, dead."

He felt her nod against his back as the armed men—and women, now that he had a closer look—circled them with sword-points and arrowheads straining for Link and Sheik's necks. But they kept a good distance away. Where did they come from, anyway? What were they, bandits? But they seemed way too professional for that…

The Swordsman (or Bossman, as Link decided to call him) did come out, sword sheathed, holding Link's carefully in his hands. He stayed, however, within his circle of protection as well. He indicated the dropped weapon and named it. "A Knight's Blade."

The young man winced and admitted warily, "Yeah. I stole it off one."

Bossman's eyebrows rose, doubtfully. "What did you wish to steal off me?"

"Friends of ours were kidnapped," Link hurriedly blurted out, clutching Sheik's hand as he spoke, "The dealers said you bought them, six kids. We just want them home."

"A likely story."

"Their names are Luda, Colin, Beth, Malo, Talo, and Agitha."

"Their names and likeness," Bossman told them brutally, "Can be found on the registers of the slavers. They made excellent gossip those few days ago as well; anyone would know their basic identification."

"Link," Sheik whispered, "If they don't tell me where they are, _right now_, I _will_ kill them, you know I will. And for your sake, I'm sorry that I won't be."

Bossman stepped forward, but not close enough. "Tell me your name, your real business, and if we work something out, you can leave this place unharmed. What do you say?"

The Hylian teetered between the two. He knew which one was the sensible option, which he wouldn't have to be a Hero over, the best course of action for them as well as the kids. Act as humble hostages, do as they say, cause no trouble. But the Fairy wouldn't take that final insult. Not ever. Ever.

Link realised with some derisiveness that along the way he'd stopped working for the kids' sakes. He'd cross fire, and do thousands more, but not for them.

This was for Sheik.

He lifted his left wrist, scarred from chaffing against a metal ring. "We say-"

"What in the golden realm is going on here!"

Link actually jumped. Bossman's brow furrowed with disapproval, and the armed men and women's sword-points drooped visibly in exasperation. The young man paled.

"Rusl? Rusl! What is the meaning of this?"

Bossman reluctantly responded to his name, turning around and calling into the woods, "An interrogation, Giovanni."

Link whimpered and Sheik looked so confused at the sudden lack of tension that he would've laughed if he didn't feel so hollow with despair.

"An _interrogation_? You're using far too many men! Standard bowmen aside, my best men at arms, _more_ archers, and I heard you were calling in our one magician on hand before I set off from camp. And for what? A couple of measly intruders?"

Link collapsed against the wall, bone weary and sick of life. Sheik crouched next to him, worryingly touching his forehead. "Link?"

"Kill me now. Please, kill me now." Link cradled his head against his knees and waited for the inevitable. He would be short, plump, blond, obnoxious, and unreasonable, and would have that bloody jerkin thing on, all askew, as usual.

"Who do you think-By the Triad!" he bellowed, "Link? _Son_?"

Rusl paused. "He's your son?"

Sheik was incredulous. "He's your father?"

Giovanni pointed: "Who's that with you?"

Rusl clenched his fists. "What is your _son_ doing here?"

"What's your father doing _here_?"

"Why's he hiding his face? Deformed, is he?"

"You said your son was in Ordon!"

"Link are you alright?"

The young man in question just gave a long, withering sigh.

…,…,…

Sheik stood uneasily against the tent's support, hood gone, face completely bare, chewing her black lip in the sunset. "So… Are we prisoners?"

"I guess. But I don't think we need to escape just yet."

Link looked around the wide valley they'd been forced to march into, and the assembled tents full of fighters, healers, and one or two magicians that filled it. The valley itself was mostly grass, dotted with a few bush, surrounded by a copse of trees. There was a clear pebbled river a short walk away, wide as two carriages, and knee deep. Fires were lit here and there to ward off the coming dark, and many eyes watched the new tent suspiciously.

"How does your father get involved?" Sheik questioned, unravelling the plait of her hair, tossing the starlight strands across her shoulder, "He seems… ill-fitted, to this."

"Yeah, he's got too much flab to be a fighter. And I have no idea what this is about."

"Sir!"

Link instinctively turned to look at who was being called, and was vaguely horrified to note that the solider coming towards them was addressing _him_, but that quickly went when he realised what he was leading.

"_Epona_!" Link rushed over and hugged the creature by its neck, getting a surprised whinny. "They haven't been making you do nasty stuff, have they?"

"Just standard training, sir," the soldier muttered gruffly, "Where would you like her to be kept?"

"Uh… I don't know, just where she was before, if it's the kind of place she likes. She caused any trouble?"

"Plenty, at first."

"That's Epona," Link grinned, patting the filly firmly on her side, "Thanks for showing her to me. I'm knackered, so I'll see her in the morning, how about it?"

"Very good, sir," the soldier muttered, turning away.

"Wait a second. Why am I a 'sir'?"

The soldier looked at Link as if he was stupid before continuing walking. Sheik snorted at his expense, nudging his arm with her elbow. Link glared at her and told her to shut up, suggesting they get cleaned up a little before they crashed for the night.

"Alright, wolfboy," she rolled her eyes, "After all, must look my best for your father tomorrow morning. Our jailer, as it so… happens…"

Link glanced at where she was staring at and gasped. The kids were there. Frolicking. Agitha, Beth, Colin, Luda, Malo, Talo. All of them, and they were playing in the grass.

Link glanced back at the fairy; she was white as a sheet under her dusky complexion.

Those kids were _screwed._

Malo was the first to notice her. Then they just froze, their eyes glued to Sheik. The tension in the air between them was palpable enough that people stopped in their tracks, and quietly walked around the staring contest, instinctively realizing not to disturb it. Their eyes held equal amounts of fear, and hope.

After all this time, she didn't run screaming at them. She marched, briskly, quietly. She was standing in front of them like a judge, and the children automatically stood alphabetically in line, faces invariably turned down.

Link only heard what she said because he'd unconsciously followed her. "This will be the first and last time I take your will from you, understand?"

Her fingers splayed. Abject horror was written on their faces, all of them, as their bodies stood rigid and they were forced to look at their fairy godmother.

_Slap_.

Link's jaw dropped. _Slap_._ Slap_. One by one Sheik struck their cheek, and their shock was almost equal to their horror. It was clear Sheik had never hit them before.

And all they could do was take it.

When Sheik was done her shoulders shook, her teeth were gritted. Agitha was sobbing, sounding betrayed. Malo's cheek looked redder than the others' because he was so much younger and paler. Of the remaining four, only the girls didn't flinch, but Luda was sobbing too. "You fools," was her vehement hiss, "You imbeciles. You… you _idiots_."

Link hastily looked away from the crying wreck the kidnapped group were becoming just in time to see a dark skinned shaman-like person with long thick hair hurrying towards them, looking livid. The boy decided to intercept him before he got any closer.

"Sir, I know this looks bad but rest-assured everything's under-"

"She just hit my daughter!" the man barked, grappling with the blonde that was desperately blocking his way,

"If you don't quieten down," was Sheik's inhuman roar, glowing teeth protruding from both her lips, "I _WILL GUT YOU_!"

"She really, really will," Link hissed fervently, _making_ this man understand, "She won't hurt the kids but she _will_ hurt you if you try to stop her now. Your daughter is going to be fine; _trust me_, she turned me into a wolf as a _kindness_."

While Link negotiated Sheik was already continuing with her wrath-fuelled rant. But she never shouted. Her tone was sardonic and vicious and quiet. It was the poison of the worst kind, the type that made guilt seep in and never, ever, ever let go. "I seem to have a few geniuses on my hands, because for some groundbreaking reasons that my simple head cannot _begin _to fathom, you decided to change a fairy's pact. A _sacred _fairy's pact, might I add, that perhaps can be altered but somehow considered to be _silly _and _sacrilegious _and not to mention _stupid_ by the people that made said contract. What part of the pact was so, so, _simple, _that you felt the urge to change it, hm? Navi's protection was for _you_. I made that pact, so that the weakest of us, which is _all of you_, could stay _safe_. Oh but of course you somehow asked for assistance at the eventuality of you being separated. Or killed. But I hear, from Navi herself, that that wasn't _quite_ the case."

"We're alright!" Talo blurted, angry tears wiped by defiant fists, "Doesn't that matter?"

"Do not tempt me to strike you again, Talo," the fairy growled back, her eyes pulsing heat, "For this is only a _fraction_ of what I want to do to you, a _fraction_ of my rage_._"

That shut him up.

"Do you even _imagine_ how _lucky_ you are?" she sounded almost incredulous. It just made the kids feel stupider. "You would never have been found if you were separated. Never would've known if you were the only one left alive of you six. Funnily enough, I was going to track you to Castle Town, which is _awfully_ far away from here, isn't it? The only reason I was able to track you here, was because one of Ordon knew of slave traders. _One_. Extraordinarily lonely number, don't you think? Then to Kakariko, the chances of which all of you _being here _was slim to none. From there it was sheer human _kindness_ and unbelievable _luck_ that brought me here. _Do you understand me_?"

_Now_, she was shouting. Her familiars cowered. "My magic is not all powerful! That's why I contract the help of my lesser kin and you _knew that_! I gave you the call because I trusted you to use it wisely and you _throw it in my face _like a rag and think yourselves invincible enough to handle the whole world, of course! Did all that I showed you and teach you fall on deaf ears? Did nothing penetrate your thick, empty skulls! Without me you would be _nothing,_ justhungry, homeless, _dead_ _little children_!"

The shaman cried out in outrage and wrestled with Link. But the teen held on, no matter how tempted he was himself to make her take that back, it was way too harsh-

Somebody collapsed. The Shaman stopped struggling. Link looked back. Sheik was on her knees, the heels of her palms pressed against her forehead, and terrible, grief-stricken keening tore itself from her twisted black mouth. The Hylian was dumb-struck. He had never, ever, not once, seen her shed a tear. Yet she was bawling her eyes out in front of the very people she professed she'd never show weakness to.

They fell like rain, relentless and bitter.

"And what would I be?" she blubbered, sobbing and looking at each and every face till they were crying afresh, "I'd just be a lonely creature with a cursed tree and no purpose. Why do you think I look after you? So I, I can roast you, or lead you to slaughter, or, or, use you for sport once I find no fun out of you, like all those stories? Wh-what am I without you? Is my protection not enough for you?"

"No! No! Don't say that!" Beth stomped her foot and wailed at the sky, pressing her forearm against her face, "We wann'ed, w-wann'ed t-to thank you, swear, you t-take care of us all th-the time and-and-and,"

"We wanted to take care of you for a change," Malo murmured wetly, sniffling, his arms slack against his sides, "We wanted to make sure _you're_ safe too-"

"You don't _eat_!" Luda cried out, shaking her fists angrily, tears splashing her face. "You never eat you don't seem to sleep but you're always rushing around helping us and what if we were safe but you were hurt and there was nobody to help you?"

"I don't _need-_" Colin swan-dived into a hug and cut Sheik's sentence off.

"Z'w-w-w-w-g'tlnk-t-t-t-t-t-cha-a-a-se-skzeth-th-thou-hew-w-as-a-nice-per-an-an, aa-w-we're sorry Sheik we're sorry s-sorry so so-so-so-so-"

"Oh gods, Colin," her hand fluttered awkwardly onto his back and then she was tackled on the other side by Agitha and then all of the children were rushing at her, raising the trees with their apologetic noise, and every single one of them was sobbing, begging forgiveness, even (if not especially) Sheik, rubbing each face and apologising for her vicious slap.

Link sighed and turned on the priest. "See?"

The man seemed completely lost at what to do. Link decided to take the initiative. "So, which one's your daughter?"

His private guess was confirmed when the man said, "Luda. Luda is my daughter."

"I thought they were all orphans. Mind if I hear your story?" he gestured back with his head, where the soppy reunion was taking a lighter turn, "I think they'll be busy for a while."

The tall, sharp-jawed man seemed to hesitate, glancing nervously back at his daughter. "It's been two years…"

"Then another two hours won't be such a difference." The boy insisted, guiding the man away with his elbow, "Trust me, she'll throw a hex or two at you till she has her world under control. My name's Link, by the way."

The man seemed to give up and sigh. "My name is Renado Le'Kath. My story's long. Come to my fireside; we'll talk there."

_Wise choice_, Link thought to himself as he determinedly didn't look back.

…,…,…

"You know of our Queen, Veran."

Link made a distasteful face as he accepted Renado's offered mug of tea. The sky was sinking into twilight, and the fire seemed almost unnecessary if it weren't for the tea. "Our very own vain, corrupt, slightly psychotic monarch? Who _doesn't_?"

"I was referring to her dark practices."

"Sounds sinister," was Link's only comment as he sipped the bitter-tasting liquid.

The priest's face darkened as he poked the fire. "She should be forty, pushing forty five. And yet she looks nineteen, twenty-five if you're being cruel. Hasn't aged a day for the last twenty years, indeed almost grown younger."

Link shrugged. "So she has the easy life. Lack of hardship does that."

"She meddles with time and magic."

"Oh Furore," Link muttered, throwing the mug onto the grass and rubbing his temples, irritated that the thing hadn't even shattered, "Isn't there any mediocre crime going on? Thieving with the bare hands? The wife next door having an affair with the butcher? Because that is a cliché I would kill for right about now."

"You seem extremely unperturbed."

"You obviously didn't take a proper look at that girl's face." Link growled, "Look, I'm here for you and Luda's story. If you're going to give me anything else, I'm off. I need to lie down anyway."

"Our story, as you put it, is highly connected to the queen and her ways."

"Just skip the magic, then. I'm sorry for being rude, but we've had a really long day. Not to mention the whole week."

"That was fairly evident," Renado's smile was wry and patient. He gestured for the cup and Link handed it to him, getting a refill of tea. "She hunts creatures. People. Anything to aid her youth. Two years ago, one of the scouts caught what was thought to be a Wildling, a monster of terrible proportions and power. The Queen was away from the castle, so naturally the thing was imprisoned. I was one of the few aiming to be the Head Priest of the palace, so our sleeping quarters were close. Mine especially; therefore my daughter's was right above its dungeon."

"Let me guess," Link wryly rolled his eyes, "Luda let it go?"

Though he'd seen his daughter alive the memory of it still seemed to nauseate Renado as he nodded. "She was saying the beast was speaking to her and promising favours, which is a fair, most probably true story, but an unacceptable one in the Queen's eyes. Luda was nearly sent to the executioner, if it weren't for the priests. So she was banished instead. I gave her a letter of recommendation, to send her here, but… her maid was a turncoat. She arrived without my daughter. I'd thought her dead."

Link winced. "That… must've been terrible."

The man's sigh was shaky and exhausted. "It was the reason why I joined this, and it was here I learnt to fully appreciate the cause."

"What cause? I still don't fully understand what this camp is all about."

Renado contemplatively tapped his fingers against his mug, and asked, "If you don't know of our cause, how are you here?"

"We were looking for those kids. They were in Sheik's care before we got beat up and they were kidnapped, and we heard the slave-trade was here. So, here we are."

"…I'm sorry, but then I mustn't. All our lives are in danger as it is, I can't risk more." He quickly changed the subject, face imploring. "Tell me, how… what is that woman to her? Has she been taking care of Luda?"

Link gave a reluctant but assuring nod. "Best way to describe it is… Sheik's their fairy godmother. Treats them fair, teaches them useful stuff, takes care of them the best she can. And," Link silenced the man before he could get started, "I think I'm right when I say that's the first and last time she hit _any _of them and, believe me, this was justifiable, almost. What she said was pretty nasty even by her standards, though."

The man didn't seem to know quite what to say either, so he took a sip of his tea and stared at the fire. "When I saw her at the slave-trade…"

"What happened out there anyway? Said they were making a fuss."

The Priest snorted. "Fuss doesn't cover it. They were like a banshee together, and refused to be separated, even when they were forced into a cramped cage. I couldn't believe my eyes, and when they were about to be sold the Luda seized the blond girl and shouts that she was the daughter of the High Priest of Castleton and she demanded them to let them all go. I couldn't believe it. I hadn't had that position yet, and she believed in me. Even when I failed her. I couldn't… how could I show my face?"

"Wow, wait," Link tried to smile at the saddened, guilt-wretched man, "You busted her out of prison, basically, brand free, with all of her friends… and you still haven't seen her? Hasn't it been two days? More?"

"More," he agreed, "But,"

"Go see her!" Link told him, both amused and appalled, "She's proud of being your daughter, isn't that enough? Go on!"

"But-"

"Sheik's lost them two weeks tops. You've lost her two years. I'm sure she can lavish attention at her later once she's finished with the other kids. They're all she's here for. Knowing her she'll just… snatch them back. Without a word."

The realisation dawned on both of them, though they were deeply different realisations, "She might be gone, right now."

Renado set his cup down, hurriedly told Link that he could stay at the fire as long as he liked, help himself to tea, and that the man was in his debt before hurrying away to look for Luda, frantically chasing for the group of children.

Link sat there, staring at his tea. She might be gone, right now. He was done being the guide; he'd got her where she needed to. It was clear he had family here; she'd see no reason to stay. She'd go back, maybe with Luda maybe without, back to her old life with no attackers and strangers and dangers, while he'd be expected to stay and add another number to these ranks of... _somethings_, look after dear old dad's project.

Link tossed the cup full of tea against the ground again, laughing derisively at himself as he stood and went to look for his horse. The cuff and chain was tied round a piece of rag, hanging from his neck as he approached his mare, and the beast snorted at the strangeness of her master.

"Hey, girl," he whispered at her, "How about you lie down for me?"

The surprise came from both the fact that he spoke horse and that he'd asked her a request. _Down? Why?_

"Because you're warm, and I'm cold."

Epona's ears flicked contemptuously. _You have blanket, I have blanket_.

"You have fur too."

_Blanket._ She insisted, closing her eyes, _Silly master._

"How about some company, eh? I could use a favour, Epona."

The horse opened an eye warily, this new communication with her master troubling her somewhat. He never could've invoked a favour off her if he hadn't been able to speak horse. _Fine. Down. But carrots in the morning. With oats. And sweet dust. _

"I won't take the blanket off you if you lower it to one. One carrot, oats, and sugar. Eh?"

Epona thought about it, hard, since bargains were a new concept, but she supposed she was getting what she wanted even when she wasn't really _doing_ anything, so… why not. All she had to do was sit down till dawn, anyway. She lowered herself to the ground.

Link unthreaded the cuff and put it on. He sunk onto his fours and toppled like a house of miserable cards. The horse eyed the sad predator suspiciously. _Master Wolf_?

_No. Wolf blanket._

Epona thought about it. _So you talk with Wolf blanket_.

_Yes_.

Somehow it made sense. But still. _No eating me?_

Link smiled. _No eating Epona_.

The horse nodded and cropped at the grass. _Good_.

The wolf snorted as he closed his eyes. It was far too conspicuous, a wolf sleeping next to a horse. He couldn't care. He didn't want to care. However he pleaded, Sheik would leave and he knew it, hated it. Stupid fairy. Bloody witch. Pesky pixie. Lousy, cruel, heartless, childish, selfish… _short-stack_.

He folded his paws over his head and sighed.

Pathetic wolf.

* * *

_Suspecting the rabbit to be a spelled creature, the Girl was determined to protect it._

_The next day a merchant's girl came and, upon looking at the rabbit, demanded to buy it as a pet, but the Girl refused. The next day, two beggars came and asked for their escaped rabbit back. The day after, a boy wearing a priest's robe came to exorcise the demon. The girl refused them all, and on the fourth day, a figure cloaked in bloodthirsty red walked to her door, and stood there, silent as death._

_The Girl clutched the rabbit and said, "I won't let you take him."_

_The figure said, "I am Death. Do you deny me still?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Very well." Death threw back her hood, and glared with eyes redder than her cloak, framed by hair as white as bones, and frowned with a mouth as dark as a void. "I shall not leave till my prisoner comes with me; from now your abode is mine, _mortal_."_

_Darkness spread from the girl's house, and after days of inactivity, the villagers checked up on her. _

_The house was empty, and all the trees had wilted. Only the bees remained, buzzing a mournful lament._

* * *

**Pleeeeease tell me you can see a connection between the fairytales at the beginnings/ends of the chapters. Please tell me you do. XD**

**So. Review replies!(oh, and thank you to the 21 people who have me on favourites and 12 who have me on alerts. I couldn't help but say because of the mirror image numbers. Hee.)**

**_HumanRiot_: Thanks for the compliment and the praise! I love this Sheik, even if she is extremely sad and all. I hope she keeps you happy for the rest of the story. Enjoy!**

**_Lady Alamantia_: Heya! Good to see you again, lol. Slow internet must've sucked. And you're right. Church is determined completely by the person speaking. It is them that either makes it good, or shoves it down the drain. Oh yes, Sheik will definitely play with the antagonist... if Link doesn't feel too protective... :O**

**_Downmoon_: Thank you! Hope you enjoy!**

**_Teriyaki Chicken_: Don't worry, they shall be punished. Eventually. Anyway, here it is, and I hope you like the action. **

**_simply anonymous_: indeed, it is not. But hey, it gets better! XD**

**Have fun reading, everybody! And please, please, REVIEW?**

**REVIEW**


	11. The Midseason Dream

**Yeah, so, um... I'm sorry that it was really really late. It's, well, you see, Uni got in the way. And the new job which I suck at, but not quitting for the next two or three years from both spite and the fact that I need the money for uni. Sooooo...**

**I'mSorryI'mSorryI'mSorryI'mSorryI'mSorryI'mSorryI'mSorryI'mSORRY. \(T0T)/**

**I'll update the next one as soon as I can, okay?**

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_**The Midseason Dream**_

In the dark a furtive shadow slunk across the grass, eyes frustratingly near-blind without light. There was a brief, soft glow to lead its way, and it glided, silent, till it caught a familiar snort.

It sighed.

A step that'd refused to be taken now landed beside a bundle of fur rolled on its side, belly up, tongue lolling across gleaming fangs. A wistful chuckle preceded the gentle fingers that combed the skull, flicking the ears, earning a happy whine and twitch of the paws. The shadow smiled, and, after carefully making sure the dark masked its actions, lifted the blanket off of its shoulders and draped it on the animal as well as itself, curling in on its side.

A mountain of muscle shifted and snorted, sensing a newcomer as it woke. Unhappy to be interrupted, and seeing that its companion had been claimed by another, rolled over its back and moved a surprisingly significant distance away to resume its beauty sleep.

There was a nervous shuffle under the blanket, and a hand reached out, cautious as prey, and tapped something metallic. Even more cautiously, if it were possible, it took the large ring and slipped it off its appendage, and there was a rustle and sifting of particles and air and minds and dreams, and a new shape rested under the blanket, and it snored a little before quieting.

A giggle followed, then a self-depreciating roll of the eye as the smaller being settled beside the now furless shape, touching a forehead against a shoulder, brushing a hand with the other's, not daring to go any closer.

Tears leaked unbidden from two mismatched eyes, silent as the roll of dew over petals.

…,…,…

Everything ached. He could hardly move. He didn't want to, either. It was surprisingly comfortable, and warm. There was something wrong with this ground if it was two of those things, but Link couldn't care too much, since it wasn't poisoning him or anything, so… meh.

He buried his face into the… this wasn't grass. And his face was too flat.

Link opened his eyes, blearily, and a hand, a hand that belonged to him twitched on a brownish clay-coloured surface that felt suspiciously like cloth.

Why the heck wasn't it a paw? And where did the giant blanket come from?

…Meh. He could… yeah. He could definitely see the ring a little further on the grass. If anybody kicked it it'll come back. All's good. All _would_ be good if he could just shift the warm thing on top of his back a little…

It was breathing.

Link moaned, and fearing what he would see, turned his head the other way.

Silver hair. And the face that'd haunted his nightmares, and then his dreams.

Alright. All…right. Things were making a bit more sense… not. Why would Sheik come here, of all places? He'd been so sure that she'd be looking after the kids, not… sleeping on top of him. Not that he minded, in fact it was quite the opposite. But… doing that whilst travelling, and with nobody near, it was fine. Here, not so much. But then again, that might be a brilliant reason to be kicked out for…

Where the hell was Epona?

Oh. Over there, still asleep. Must've rolled. Huh.

So… Link turned his head back to its original position, thinking through his haze of sleep. Blanket was good. Addition of Sheik was more than nice. He liked her head nestled on top of his arm, with her strange smell of flowers and fire and blood. He was warm, in no condition or mood to move… he could pretend to sleep, enjoy while he could, and… he supposed there wasn't much to think about. Just, pretend to sleep, and… enjoy.

Sheik shattered his efforts by shifting her weight, curling a leg round his own, an arm sliding over his back as she moaned, "Mmm…"

His heart banged harder, and his fingers dug into the ground. He could feel her chest now, pressed against his side. Her leg moved, slowly, between his own. He wondered how he could replicate that sound if he ever got the chance to kiss her, if he turned around and did it _now_, goddesses, he was so, _so_ glad his body lay face down. He moaned.

Right. No. Right. Calm down. Just calm… holy crap was she waking up?

She was. Shit. Alright, he had to calm down, pretend to be asleep, (not quite sure why that was the smartest plan, but still,) and see how things rolled. He could do without the awkward conversation anyway.

Link took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and let it go. Sheik's hand trailed down his back as she groaned, rolling away and leaving him cold. Link suppressed his shiver as the blankets shifted, probably from her sitting up. She muttered something under her breath, and Link winced as he moved his arm, which was completely and truly asleep from somebody lying on top of it and cutting its circulation off. Brilliant. Why hadn't he seen that coming?

"Oh." A prod against his arm which he could only half feel was followed by a whispered, "Sorry, Link."

Should he open his eyes? Should he turn around and look her in the face? Then he felt fingers combing his hair, and the words, "I wonder…"

She began scratching. Gently at first, almost tickling, but then she pressed against his scalp with her knuckles, her touch firm and kind and wandering. Oh come on. This was degrading. He liked it, but only when he was a _wolf_, and he had made it explicitly clear to _her_ that he didn't appreciate being scratched, even if it _did_-Oh Furore. The Spot still existed, right between his neck and ear.

He could feel her bent over him, watching him smile, he could feel her shadow over his eyes and goddesses how did she make that feel so _good_…

She giggled, teasing her whole hand against his head, massaging the Spot and scratching round it. "So you do enjoy it."

Link tried to frown and failed, moaning instead. Heavens be damned, he wanted her and she wasn't helping his desire at all. "How long've you known I was awake?"

She laughed. "I didn't. You just told me."

"Yeah, right," Link grunted, rolling onto his back, so close to her that her thigh was pressed against his side, "Din, if you've worked out I like it might as well keep going,"

She snorted and continued to draw a small circle in his hair with her whole hand, eliciting a smile out of him. The early sun slit her hair in shades of gold, and for the first time her two eyes looked balanced, equal in their shade of brilliant red.

"So why did you take off?"

He blinked. "Thought you wanted to catch up with those kids."

"I did, but they wanted to see you too, you know. And I wanted to thank you."

Link smirked. "The Fairy's finally gone soft. It's alright, we got here. We're sweet."

"I was considering… granting you a favour. Just one, mind, but still-"

"Ahem."

Link froze, and Sheik took her hand away from his head, because they knew that voice. The shadow that loomed above them had her arms crossed, and her fingers tapped said arms with disapproval. Link quickly sat up and shielded Sheik from view, even as his sister spoke, "What is going on here?"

"Nothing. At all. Really."

"Why so defensive, mortal?" Sheik whispered against his neck, prodding his spine and making him shudder as Zelda's look of thunder worsened.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Link asked, a blush invading his face.

"I'm part of the Movement, Link," she growled, "Helping father. And who is this that you're hiding from me?"

Sheik hugged Link's neck from behind and gave a feral grin, and he was given the painful honour of watching Zelda react in horror. "Sheik of the Fay."

Link reluctantly pushed her off, asking, "And what's this movement thing?"

He was ignored as his sister just stared at the fairy that unflinchingly met her blue eyes with her two very different red orbs, and Sheik seemed almost to revel in Zelda's dawning fear, the way her eyes traced the black lips, the sloping cheekbones, everything that was the abnormality of the fairy.

"Zelda…?"

She finally wrenched her eyes away from Sheik at her brother's hesitant call, and managed, "I-I'm to take you to the Group. They've… organised this whole operation."

"And that answers everything, of course," he grouched, standing on aching legs, hissing at the complaining muscles, "Sheik, you coming?"

"Of course, wolfboy," She grinned, standing easily on air, "How else can I thank them for their kindnesses?"

Link noticed Zelda's offended look and wondering what was wrong _now,_ Link looked at Sheik.

His blush deepened.

He'd forgotten, again, what she always wore under the red hood. Her short tunic of half wool and half flora, leaves and twisting vines and petals half dying in her tattered garb, the strips of leather that crisscrossed her legs, barely covering skin, revealing almost every shape and contour of her slim limbs, her arms bare, and now that he remembered her back would be bare too…

"U-um, Sheik," Link hastily grabbed the blanket thing off the ground and handed it to her, trying to meet her eyes but failing, "You should, um, cover up, ah… the last thing we need is to attract more attention."

"Oh." She looked almost sad, and guilt gnawed his stomach as with the blanket that same feeling of loneliness seemed to smother her.

"Now, about those kindnesses," Link quickly spoke, "Are they the ones where I hold somebody down?"

Blackberry lips flickered in a smile.

…,…,…

They were made to wait outside the tent a while, out of earshot, as Zelda talked or what sounded like argued, to the leaders of the strange people.

"You can come in now," Zelda called out, waving from the tent.

Link sighed and making sure that Sheik followed, did as invited.

Inside was a ramshackle table and with five chairs, four of which were filled. Bossman from yesterday sat at one far end, next to an old, gaunt faced man wearing a blacksmith's over-alls. Then followed a robust, dark-skinned woman with flaming red hair, a large smile and a white, just as large, fluffy cat purring under her stroking hand. The empty chair then led to a young man, also red-haired, but pale and bespectacled and clearly some sort of scholar. Link didn't like the way they watched Sheik's every move; he moved to step in front of her to shield her, but she gave a warning sting with a finger against his shoulder blade.

He jumped. "Ow!"

"You're being melodramatic, mortal," she told him frankly as she stood beside him, scowling at the seated leaders.

The robust woman's smile widened, almost in interest. "So it's true; you call others than yourself _mortal_."

The fairy glared. "For all you know I believe myself as mortal as you are."

"You _believing_ is a little different than _being_, isn't it?"

Sheik smiled. "Ah."

"Um," Link cleared his throat and raised his hand, childish and petulant. "What do you want from us?"

"What they want from _you_, is irrelevant." Sheik let the hood drop around her head and glared. "What _I_ want is for you to peacefully let my familiars and myself to leave this little… _community_. Immediately."

The whole room tensed at the sight of her. Link glared at her for being so bold and _stupid_, and then at the others for looking so damn hostile. Fear was one thing, awe was another, but Link's new territorial instincts _refused_ to let them attack in any way, shape or form.

"That's a little impossible, sorry," A new voice said, a girl, coming in from outside, "You do understand that, yeah?"

Link looked at her, and opened his mouth in awe. By the Goddesses, she was beautiful. She was honest to earth beautiful, the kind of beauty that belonged to steeples and crowns and the heavens. Her skin was pale, as befitting royalty, but _rosy_, lips and cheeks a healthy shade of rouge that set her whole face shining with life. Her hair was black, midnight black, _blacker_ than black, so dark and silky it seemed like onyx had been fused into her strands.

When she smiled, apologetically, he was pretty much convinced of forgiving this group's transgressions, just because she was so… angelic.

Sheik snarled. "Who are _you_?"

"My name is Ashei, and I am the Horsemaster of the troops. This is Auru, the Armsman and leader of this group, and the man that brought you all in, sitting here, is Rusl. He's our Swordsmaster." In turn, the old gaunt man and Bossman gave a nod. "That woman there, Telma and her cat Louise, poisons expert and head Chef of the camp, and finally, we have Shad. The Scholar and Strategist."

Said scholar/strategist stood up and pulled Ashei's chair out for her. But he scowled as she sat down, and asked, "Do you think it's a good idea telling these… people about us?"

Ashei shrugged. "I trust Zelda."

"That's nice," Sheik drawled, "Now why is it impossible for us to leave?"

"Because this is a rebellion, and we know where they are." Link sighed, "It's so _obvious_ it's sad. An army, leaders, a corrupt queen and all that…"

Ashei smiled. "And your father funds us."

Link smirked, derisively. "I figured that."

"This is _irrelevant_," Sheik spat, gaze flicking from Link to Ashei and back again, "A Fay has no interest with you mortals, and a place of violence is no place for children. You will let me _go_!"

"We have a few things to discuss, first," Auru asserted, weaving his fingers together as he leaned against the desk, "First, this book."

He pulled it out seemingly from nowhere, and put it carefully onto the work surface. Sheik froze. A growl rose in her throat and Link instinctively grabbed and was glad he did because Sheik was screaming and clutching and biting, clawing at the air in the direction of the book. "_Give it back_! You filthy cockroach-infested mortal _rats_! Give it back this instant give it back or I'll burn this place, burn it burn it _burn it_!"

Link fiercely pinned her arm and torso against his own and hissed, "Stop it. You're not doing yourself any favours, _really_."

Something like a sob wrenched through her but still she sounded _mad_. "You took my cloak from me. You took my familiars and my cloak and now my _book_? Give. it. _Back_!"

"_Quiet_!" Was Telma's stern reprimand, and Sheik clamped up and glared.

"We have cause to believe that this wasn't yours to begin with." Was Auru's patient explanation, "And we wish you'd tell us truthfully what happened."

"What," Link interrupted dubiously, "You think she _stole _it?"

The Hylian hastily covered the fairy's mouth, and she gave a hateful growl.

"My father was a bookbinder of the castle," it was the scholar, Shad, that spoke this time tapping at a symbol on the top middle of the cover, "And this character here, is his coat of arms, his trades mark, so to speak. It was dedicated to the Royal Family."

"Wait, you're saying she stole it from the _Castle_?"

Sheik gave a screech that would've sent the dogs home if there'd been any around. Link quickly let her go in case she had the sudden urge to bite him. "Enough! I took this book from none but a cold mortal's grasping hands in the middle of a wasteland! And I'll do the same again if need be!"

She swiped the air as if she was trying to snatch the far away book back, but then a wind _convulsed_ and cannoned the book at her, and using its momentum she spun and darted out of the tent.

There was a collective sigh from the table of people.

"Hey, hey, hey," Link scowled, "I think that's my line."

The adults glared at the impudent teenager and Link huffed. "If you seriously thought that that was going to be useful, you really aren't going to go well with this revolution. What was the _point_ of that anyway? You just antagonised a possible asset, you realise that? Not," he added blandly, "That she would've cooperated."

"Don't talk so smug-like, whippersnapper," the old man, Auru, responded, "If you don't intend to participate either."

"Glad you have that smoothed over." Link nodded back, "But seriously, that was a really bad move. She knows where the kids are, she has her book, she has everything she needs or wants. She'll scram as soon as she's ready."

"There's no need to worry about that," Telma grinned, letting the cat stalk over the table towards Link, "Renado's under strict orders to not let them out of his sight. Not that he needed ordering with his daughter there."

Well. Sheik was going to hate _that_.

"Just what do you want?"

"What _I_ want," said a new voice in the conversation, "Is for my son to lead my cause."

Giovanni eyed Link proudly and smiled. Link gawped.

"Did… did you just say _lead_?"

"Indeed. Now, ab-"

"No. No way, no. No."

"Son-"

"No. I will repeat this as many times as I have to. _No_."

Giovanni's face turned red. "You will listen to me,"

Link said it slowly. "No. Nnoooo."

"_You're a Prince, by Din, and you will do your duty_!"

Link batted his eyes a few times and smiled. "Right. And you're invincible."

…,…,…

A song was being hummed when he approached the river, and he recognised both the voice and the tune. It came from the rocky bank, where the jagged stones sprouted from the sand like an island, and there the fairy was perched like a bird, turning the pages of the book. He hadn't expected her to be here, but that didn't mean much at all.

Bath forgotten, he sat himself next to her and scratched his head. "Nice work back at the tent."

She snorted, flipping a page. "They are more idiotic than I ever would've estimated."

"They're paranoid gits," he shrugged, "What with their revolution or whatever…"

Link grimly bit his lip at the thought of possible war. He wondered for a morbid second whether his father had planned the whole thing even before they'd been born. _Link_ to the thrown. _Zelda_, the 'warrior princess' rising up to reclaim it. The boy shuddered, gripping the rock beneath him tightly.

Sheik was peering into his face, looking sad. "Wolfboy?"

"You _know_ what my name is," Link ground out testily, "Why don't you just _say_ it?"

There was silence at that, and it was a while till she spoke again. "I call Agitha my pillbug. Beth is my goosegirl. Why can't you be my Wolfboy?"

This time it was Link's turn to be quiet, with the thought that he had hurt her. "…Fine, fine, Wolfboy it is, then." Sighing he lay back, and plonked his arm against his eyes to shield them from the sun. "So… fairies have mums?"

"No, not usually."

"So how're you an exception?"

"I was exiled, as I told you. In this plane I had a body, and limbs and other such things I had little control over. The mortals I called my mothers helped me."

"…So you had more than one mother? At the same time?"

"That is unusual?"

"We usually stick with one at a time."

"I had three."

"Three. At _once_."

"Oh yes," she boasted, her grin fixated in a smug curl, "And no better mothers could I have asked for. They used to call me Princess."

Link smiled at that. "_Every_ mother calls their daughter a Princess."

"Really?"

"I admit to blanket stereotyping. But that was the case with my sister." That was another thing that worried him too…

"Ah."

"What were they like?"

Sheik shrugged, rubbing at her eyes tiredly, "They were like… oh, what were they like? Their namesakes, I guess. Din was-"

"Alright sorry for the interruptions but this is getting silly." Link sat up and wagged a finger at her as she looked affronted, "Your mothers were named after the _goddesses_? The Holy Trinity? I think I have the right to claim that you're pulling my leg on this."

"But I'm not," Sheik stated plainly, though she tapped a finger against her chin, "Unless my memories play tricks on me. I just remember making comparisons and deciding they were similar. Din was loud and taught me how to fight with a stick and till the land, like the legends. I remember her laughing so loud it seemed to shake the trees, and always challenging me to a wrestle, which _always_ ended in me screeching in laughter because she wouldn't stop _tickling _me. Then there was Furore, and she taught me how an ants' nest worked and how spiders' webs shouldn't be brushed aside because they were homes, and I _hated_ spiders, _hated _them with a passion and she didn't believe me when I said they hated me too. She was perhaps the most childish, so I played with her a lot, though I think she was the reason why I ended up so filthy everyday… And Nayru, she was the law of the household, (Sheik laughed, shaking her head in nostalgia,) and she was the one that dished out punishment, too. A stone fisted tyrant, we used to say. She was more lovable than I make her out to be, though, like… I don't know. They were all angels to me."

"What happened?"

Sheik snorted and bent over her book like a hag, her shoulders giving a trembling sigh. "I grew sick, and they grew sick, and thinking it was my fault they left me. The things they left behind was my cloak, and… and this book."

She stroked the pages, yellow and brittle-edged, admitting, "This book is second only to my life."

Link wondered, briefly, where the kids were in the hierarchy of importance.

"Shall I read you your story?" she smirked at him, revealing shiny teeth, "I've nearly finished."

He blinked. "…My story?"

"Yes, Wolfboy, I write one for all my familiars. See this song? It's a table of contents; I've added my own works, over the years, and you familiars star in most. The girl of the beehives is Agitha. Beth came to me first, with a packet of salt. Colin and his devious tricks, and Luda chased down by that beastly woman, Malo and Talo and their poor parents. They all have a tale here." She caressed a page and smiled almost viciously. "I've sullied these pages with my art, my stories, my very existence; it is now solely mine, no mortal's, no lord's, none but _mine_."

"So I'm a familiar now?"

"Of course. Those I have touched are forever mine."

And just like that she threw herself out onto the river, but she didn't fall, didn't splash or sink. She stood on the slow water, book held aloft like a partner in a dance, and she began to sing that song, that lullaby, and list of tales, with the very lyrics he'd glimpsed on the page.

"_Shadow Woods,  
__Fiendish beasts  
__Gather round in a wintered dale  
__Drinking dreams,  
__On songs they feast  
__Once upon a Fairytale._"

She stepped, she whirled, she jumped and tapped and soared. The water rippled a path behind her as she tapered through her waltz, and Link watched her sing and dance, a fond smile refusing to leave his face.

She smiled back at him under her eyelashes, then she spun, singing again,

"_Graceless Swans with pearls for eyes,  
__Guide lost boys through fears and lies,  
__Lonely Priestess frees a blight,  
__While thieves are caged by night…_"

She floated back towards him, urging him to stand and dance with her, never wavering in her song, always smiling, floating, soaring and dancing with a grace impossible for a mere mortal. All _he_ really did was stand and hold her hand, letting her spin him round. But he brought her closer with each of her airy steps, and she came, slowly but surely.

"_Bees beat back an arbiter,  
__A Man is bound by chains and fur,  
__What beneath the Deathly Tree  
__Immortal eyes foresee?_"

On the dying note they were so close they may as well have been embracing. Link half smirked. "You're doing that on purpose."

"Oh?"

He contemplated saying 'driving me crazy', but decided on, "Floating taller than me."

She chuckled. "Mm."

She moved forward. His heart pounded. Her hair wafted in front of his face and her small arms circled round his neck, and her berry lips brushed his ear, forcing heat up and down his spine. "Shall I tell thee what immortal eyes foresee?"

"Uh… um-"

She grinned. "Splash."

The world tilted. No, he was falling. …Eh?

There _was_ a splash, all around him, cold and enveloping and loud and choking. Tiny fish fled as he erupted into their world in a shroud of bubbles. When he surfaced he nearly sunk again because of the hysterical laughter bogging him down, but that only fuelled his desire for _revenge_. She was laughing so hard she didn't even know he was coming. Link kicked off the shallow end of the river, grabbed her ankle, and _plunged_.

Even underwater he could hear her squealing.

The next few moments were a watery blur, grabbing and gasping and choking, water in mouth and nose and eyes. When he could properly _see_, he had her against some rocks, and she was laughing and admitting defeat, and for once she looked sheepish, if nothing else.

Link grinned. "Who has who now?"

She looked down, and up, and said, "…But you always have."

The Hylian blinked, trying to make sense of what she'd said. She was holding the rock to keep herself properly afloat, and the way she _stared_ at him just…

She sharply looked to the side, glaring at nothing. Then she snarled and dove underwater and swam away, and Link was left stumped, heart pounding _again_ Furore be damned, lurching as well because he'd missed his chance at kissing her.

He'd been so _close_!

"Link?"

"…_Zelda_?"

"Um… are you decent?"

Link snorted and swam into view. His sister was in the process of sitting herself down, and she scowled at his condition. "Why are you in your clothes? And… you haven't taken off your boots! Link, you'll ruin them!"

Link sighed and banged his head against the shore. Was this why Sheik had gone? Because she'd heard Zelda coming? Din, Nayru, _Furore_! His sister bloody interrupted him! _Gah_!

"What do you want, Zelda?" Link snapped, perhaps a little too harshly.

Her face saddened, like the little sister she always had a will be. "I just wanted to see whether you were alright."

"… I'm fine. Annoyed, but fine." The young man hauled himself out of the river and proceeded to empty his shoes. Disgustingly, a rather tiny frog squelched out of his left one.

"So… why did you…?"

"I was pushed."

"…Oh."

"Just what do you want, Zel?" Link grumbled, shaking out his hair.

She shuffled uncomfortably before beginning hesitantly, "Are you sure you… you don't want any part of this?"

"Yeah. I'm sure."

"It's just…"

"Zelda, I enjoy life as it is. I'm not saying Veran's great, far from it. She's evil. Her taxes are exorbitant and she hires too many men for soldiers. But I will _not_ get involved."

"…What father said was true, you know."

Link wrung out his gauntlets till his knuckles turned white and hurt him. He refused to respond.

Zelda shuffled uncomfortably, and muttered hesitantly, "You'll always be my brother…"

"Oh cut the crap!" Link spat, making her jump, "Of course you'll always be my sister, what the hell do you think happened to the last twenty years of our lives, eh? _Goddess_."

"But-"

"It's that _bastard_ that I'm annoyed at! _Gods_! He's been lying to us! _The whole time_! The money disappearing, the moving around the… the…"

"The keeping us safe?"

"He hasn't been keeping us safe!" Link roared, standing up and pacing, "He's been readying both of us for _this_! War! Bloody, damning, _war_! For Nayru's sake! And you knew! And you're still part of it!"

"She was my mother!"

"She was _our_ mother!"

"Well you've acted like you've forgotten her!"

Link ground his teeth, forced himself to calm, and spoke slowly. "I haven't forgotten her. Nowhere near it. I just… we _lost her_. The last thing I need is to lose you too."

"You won't, don't you see?" she sighed exasperatedly, "I'm just a healer when the fight comes; right now I'm simply a spy. The Temples have been so corrupted with tithes and things, I… it's just so _despicable_."

Link bit back his retort, because she was probably right, but still… "Just promise me that you won't do something _stupid_."

"That's rich coming from you," she huffed, tossing her hair over her shoulder, "Loitering with that girl, calling herself a fairy of all things…"

"I'm pretty sure you saw her, Zelda," Link deadpanned, "You know, staring, terrified, at the giant smirk on her face?"

"Just because she's adept at magic that doesn't make her a _fairy_. Besides, she looks too-"

"I _like_ her." The blunt brutality of his statement made her stop. "She's a good person. Maybe she tells some tall tales, but I like her. Alright?"

"Just the way you like _Ashei_, hm? I saw the way you looked at her, and it was _blatant_ that you were flirting."

"I was not!"

"Was so. I was hoping for that, actually," she added sheepishly after her triumphant outburst, "I think you'd like her very much."

"Whatever," he grumbled, though that was admittedly true, "Just… are we settled now? Can I take my bath to 'cool down', as those… people suggested I do?"

"You do smell something awful," she chuckled as she stood, batting her skirt down as she turned away, "I'll tell the others to keep away from here. And," she added shyly, "Thank you, you know. For being my brother."

The young man rolled his eyes and waved her off. "Yeah, yeah, stop being sentimental. I need to get clean, remember?"

But even after Zelda was long gone, Link didn't really get back in the river. The thought that Sheik would come back and find him was… worrying, at best.

…,…,…

"They wish to stay." She told him before he could ask, as she put her precious book onto the small cot that the soldiers had lent her for how many nights she would remain.

Link couldn't help but feel relieved, if not sorry for her. "The kids?"

"Who else?" she grumbled, tugging her fingers through her knotted hair, growling hatefully at it, "They are not hungry, they have more children to play with, adults to boast at, a freedom to roam wherever they please without worrying of death. _Goddesses_!" she shrieked, clutching her head.

Link stopped her from tearing her hair out. "Stop that. Stop that right now."

"Why do you mortals have _hair_? It's disgusting! It keeps growing and collects grime and gets in the way and-"

"It's nice."

"It's… what?"

"It's nice. Your hair. Some people would kill to have silver like yours."

She blinked at him incredulously, trying to snort in scorn. She failed.

"It's still… it's still impractical."

"That's because yours is a bush." He told her pragmatically as he looked for and found a brush, "Come on, get over here. Let's get it into a plait."

"I believe that _platt_, or whatever it was that made the knot worse."

"I have a proper tie this time."

He brushed her hair, just like he'd done with Zelda all those years ago, first working out the large nests of hair before smoothing it out, which took a substantially long time. They chatted like they always did; she mocking him, him letting it slide, till there was a trail of tamed silver behind her back, tied by a length of cotton ribbon, her impish face framed by strands of moonlight and stars.

And she smiled, half surprise and glee. "No wonder you like getting scratched behind the ears."

…,…,…

Prisoners or no, the two were well treated, if isolated. Telma was coming up with a disguise for the fairy; Sheik was extremely angry about this, till they agreed to patch her cloak as well.

Link was getting better at the sword, under Rusl's tutelage, but he was getting no better at communicating with Sheik. He talked with Ashei a lot, whilst looking after their respective horses, but the one person he wanted to talk to was always buried in her book or away in the river, and Link dared not get close in case he was turned into something less than a bug by seeing something that he should never, ever see.

Days passed.

"Link?" Ashei was digging round the stables as she called his name, and as he appreciated the feminine curve of her back against the workers' clothes that she wore, he grunted in reply. "Have you seen my mirror?"

The young man blinked in confusion. "Mirror?"

"Yeah," she lifted herself from her crouch and grimaced. "It's a cheap old thing, but it's the only one I've got, and I don't want to spend good money on another one. Not to mention it was lent to me by Shad…"

Link smirked at the mention of Shad; the poor sod was so desperately in love with Ashei even _she_ knew about it. Too bad their interests didn't seem to quite match. "Where'd you last use it?"

"At the river, while I was cutting my hair," she clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth and sighed. "But that girl's there."

They never called Sheik by her name, and they adamantly refused to believe she was a fairy. Which was fair enough; they hadn't seen what she could do. But there was a big fear, almost on the verge of paranoia about her that seemed to bug them, and it looked like they were going to make damn sure Link got on their side once they proved their fears as legit.

Which, of course, would never happen.

"Why are you so afraid of her?"

She looked at him strangely and said, "Why shouldn't we be? Why aren't _you_?"

"Never mind," Link shrugged almost distastefully. "I'll go see if she's seen the mirror."

The walk to the river was uneventful and quiet. He found her on the rocks, staring at something and looking depressed. She wore a priest's robe the shade of pink lavenders, the closest thing to her old cloak in both shade and shape and function; the leader of the camp had refused to allow her to walk around clad basically in nothing.

"Sheik?"

She waved a hand and twiddled her fingers to show that she'd heard. Sighing, she picked whatever she was staring at up from the ground and handed it to him, and it turned out to be Ashei's mirror after all.

"I see why you mortals are so vain," she laughed sadly at his incredulous gaze, looking down on him as she lay on her sunny patch of rock, "And so judgemental. You look at yourselves and you see all the miniscule flaws, and you can't help but compare yourself with all the rest of the world. But then again," she added, looking at the river, "It is horrifying in a way, for a monster to never know how truly monstrous it is."

Link had crawled up to sit next to her, reflecting the light of the sun wherever he wished, "Are you calling yourself a monster?"

She sat up and smirked. "Aren't I?"

Before he could stop himself he was brushing his hand against her cheek. Her eyes widened as he said, "You're not ugly, Sheik."

She giggled, recovering from her surprise. "Perhaps. But if ever a mirror existed that showed the face within… you wouldn't feel the same."

He pulled back, and just stared at the face that haunted his nightmares by crying, lit up his dreams by laughing, the eyes the colour of everything red and extraordinary, the skin the shade of polished wood, warm as fresh bread. "That's alright," Link grinned bracingly, "That goes for everybody."

"Never you, my sweet wolf," she chuckled, turning away with book in hand, "Never you."

""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

_Once upon a time there was a tower high as half the heavens, and it could withstand all powers of the weather, for no wind, rain, hail, or the beat of the sun could topple it. It was a place of great importance, for the Kings owned it._

_Once it was used to honour the Gods; but as the Kings grew lax in their duties, less and less sacrifices were handed to the altar, and the gods grew angry. The Tower was forsaken, and they left the place cursed in remembrance of the fickleness of humanity. Those who approached were brought down with sickness and fear, and only the good hearted lay safe from the curse of the Gods._

_The Kings were angry, so far gone in their arrogance were they, and took no effort to appease the Heavens. To spite the gods they sent prisoners of war, criminals and frauds and slaves too old or crippled to work to the tower as their place of death, in a mockery of the once glorious divine offerings._

_Many a year passed since, and the place grew fouler and fouler, until twilight seemed to dwell in the air and unhappiness ooze from the earth, and that was how the Three Goddesses found it, when they descended from the Sky. _

_Thinking they were mortal, the prisoners and criminals jeered and attacked them, but fire surrounded them and saved them from their taint, and they lifted their arms to the sky._

_Din spoke: "We Three come here not for a crime committed but a wrong done."_

_Nayru said: "There was a child in the tower full of wonder and beauty."_

_Furore then finished: "We claimed her in the name of heaven, and she shall ascend to greatnesss."_

_They rose to the tower as smoke, where there was supposedly a room without window or door, where a child had been forced to sleep within since the beginning of time. They circled the walls with godly wind, and carrying the babe between them like the Triforce of Old, they left the tainted land of prisoners, forever and forever. _

_They say, even now, the Goddesses take care of the babe. _

_"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""'_

_**O**_**hhh, things are getting all the more confusing! Aren't you just delighted? Sorry. I'll get the new revelations clearer in the next chapter. Or maybe inprove this one later. I'm just not in the mood to prolong the update any longer, you know?**

**So, review replies! XD**

**_HumanRiot_: YAY FOR CONNECTIONS! And indeed they are. And now we get back to the tales from before, where they were only half finished, and they shall be more of use, digging into a dark dark past of a dark dark kingdom... lol. **

**_Lady Alamantia_: Yay for Death! Yes, definitely a rebellion. Didn't really explain much in this chapter though, did I? I wanted to concentrate more on Link and Sheik's relationship, but I think I epically FAILED. I'll work on it more on the next chapter. Which I am determined to post within the week. If not two. GOD. **

**_Wolfslegend_: Yes! Yes I did! Wow I can't believe people remembered! Yes, the beautiful queen is mentioned. And there is a BLATANT reference to Snow White. I'm sure you found it. XD I love Epona. She needs people talking to her. **

**_simply anonymous_: I'm glad you think it's interesting, because I was getting owrried that it was getting kinda old... phew. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter too!**

**_CatsGotTongue_: Yes, Sheik is based on Little Red Riding hood. Only she kicks the wolf's ass. XD The cloak and other things in her possession will be explained further into the story, and, whatelse, oh yeah the fairy law. That will be explained also. And she didn't leave! Hope you enjoyed this chapter too, and leave another review behind! **

**_Teriyaki Chicken:_ I agree. here it is. GOD. **


	12. The Princely Pauper

**Heeeeeeelllloooooooo!**

**I am so very, very, very, very sorry. \(ToT)/**

**Look, I didn't think Uni was that, hard. I underestimated it. It is cruel. It takes a massive amount of my time. I HAVE EXAMS RIGHT NOW. I should not be here, posting this up, I should be doing my science study, which I regret to this day for taking. I am an idiot. Cry, **

**And I had hit a wall. I knew EXACTLY what should happen, but I had no idea how. Honestly, I was FORCING myself to write this and banging my head against the table going, _THIS IS WRRROOOOOOOOONG!_**

**I think I got it right. But it still sucks. **

**Sooooooo, I hope you forgive me, and enjoy the review replies at the bottom. Seeez you!**

**p.s., why is that line of speech marks thing not working? I enjoyed it! Automatic line! Now I have to do it on my own at the risk of ruining this alreayd crap chapter. phewey. (-3-)**

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_The Princely Pauper_

Link was carefully turning another page of Sheik's fairytale book when Talo surprised the hell out of him. "Hey!"

Link jumped and lost his page. Cursing, he glared at the boy and snapped, "What?"

"You're gonna be in _so_ much trouble, that's what!" he failed to sneer in that childish way, "Nobody gets to hold that book 'sept for Sheik."

"You look happy that I'm going to be told off."

"Well o'course!"

"Shucks to you, midget," Link smugly nudged Talo's forehead, "She _leant_ me the book. While she's off looking for an escape route for you guys, I'm making sure this doesn't get damaged. Oh, jealous, are ya? Jealous?"

The kid sure looked it. His fists and teeth were clenched and he glared at the older man with _hate_. "But that's not fair! You've been with us the shortest, why do _you_ get to hold the book?"

"Because I'm an adult, that's why," Link stuck his tongue out at the boy before gesturing at him to run along. Talo did so reluctantly.

The teenager then continued to read, a mixture of nostalgia and confusion keeping him going through the excessively elegant handwriting and the sickeningly beautiful illustrations.

This somehow made no sense. The stories were essentially the same, but there were differences in them that made them feel… wrong. The characters were different; there were more or less protagonists, or villains. Stories set in forests were set in deserts or swamps or even in the sky. You actually had to read through at least half to know which fairytale the book was parodying. If what Shad was saying was true, that this book had been written by his father, the castle's finest bookbinder, then why were the folktales less than accurate?

Link closed the book, propped his chin against a fist and frowned. Things were getting fishier since _Dad_ revealed his secrets. Maybe he was just indulging himself in a massive bout of paranoia, but you had to admit, everything about Sheik was fishy. Dominating, spiteful, beautiful, alluring, not to mention mysterious. So by default, the book was a mystery too, and an investigation was in order.

Link just had to think of a way to get her to approve it.

…,…,…

"Thanks for the read, Sheik," Link put the book on the grass patch that she was standing next to, crouching down to meet her gaze levelly, "It's good to know that you're mostly healed."

She gritted her teeth, extending her arms to their fullest length. "Not quite."

"So you're pushing yourself, why?"

Her lip involuntarily twitched. "Don't make me laugh. Don't. I'll lose my concentration."

Link grinned. "You always said I was terribly punny."

"Stop it."

"What, isn't it good enough that I've made your world upside down? Or am I not holding the gravity of the situation? If so, I suppose you have a good point, since you're… um… okay, I've got nothing."

She snorted and chuckled and squealed, and Link caught her as she tumbled down from her handstand. She was such a surprised, dishevelled bundle in his arms that he couldn't help but laugh.

Sheik blew a handful of white hair from her face and scowled. "You pig."

He smiled at her. "You fairy."

Her lip gave a sarcastic pull. "Thank you for the compliment."

"Don't worry, because it was."

Her sullen expression haltingly melted into something warm. Link picked up the book without breaking his gaze and handed it to her properly this time. "Your majesty."

"Please," she snorted as she tenderly took it in her grasp, holding it against her chest, "If I hear the rumours right, _you_ are the next in line."

Link flinched at her remark, and immediately turned away. "Don't say that."

"What? That's what I _heard_. I never said it was true. Is it?"

There was a soft breeze as she lifted in the air, cocking her head to the side as she glided round to meet his gaze. She blinked her mismatched eyes curiously. "What's wrong?"

"What's _wrong_ is that bastard _lied_ to me." Link spat, clenching his fists, "I don't care that mum and I weren't related, I don't care that _she_ was related to _Veran_, what I _do_ care about is that _my father lied to me_! He said that we were run out of town because of debts; he said that we had to keep moving because we were poor, was that all true? _No_! He was funding this circus! Which, I wouldn't care about either, if… if… goddesses I sound like I only care about the money." The young man rubbed his face, groaning. "I just… he was doing this because he wanted the thrown. He wants to rule, Din be damned, and I know if he's going to these lengths he shouldn't be up there. He shouldn't. He…"

He paused, since he found Sheik awkwardly holding his middle, giving him a soft squeeze. "Um… Sheik?"

Her head fitted perfectly under his jaw. She talked against his shirt. "You mortals like hugs when you're frustrated, don't you?"

"Well, some people do."

"Oh." She retracted. "You're not one of them?"

"No." Link pulled her closer, rearranging his position so it was more comfortable even if they were sitting down. "I mean, yes. Just give me the hug, damn it."

"Uhuh." She muttered, windpipe getting crushed by his arms, "So what are you angry about?"

Link let her go, sighing. Sheik crossed her legs and placed her chin against her hand as she listened. "My mom was dad's second wife. Zelda was born between him and her, which makes her my half sister. My birth-mother died, or so he says."

"That's important?"

"No. She's still my Zelda. I'll always find her annoying."

She snorted. "Charming."

"What I _hate_," he growled, tearing at the grass, "Is that he made our lives harder for his own ends! He cut back on our budget for food. Zelda never made real friends because of him."

"And you?"

"That doesn't matter."

"Hm," she hummed noncommittally, and shrugged. "Well, onto brighter topics, did you enjoy this?"

"Oh, the book? Yeah, I did. It… confused me, though."

She looked at him, then at the book, before cautiously opening it and ruffling through the pages as if something demonic had changed it. "Why?"

"No, there's nothing _wrong _with it," he amended, "It's just… well, you don't have Rose-red in there."

"…Rose-red?"

"It's a classic. You know, evil stepmother that gets jealous because the daughter's so beautiful? Tries to kill her, escape, poisonous fruit, Prince comes along, etcetera?"

"No…?"

"When I say, Red shoes, people would usually recognise that one."

She looked completely baffled. "But there aren't any stories about shoes in here."

"That's because it's been converted to the Black ribbon. In your one-"

"Yes, I know, the Ribbon forces her to speak and feel foul things. She almost deserved to die, in my opinion."

"Well, in the Shoes, they just forced her to keep dancing. She danced and danced till either her feet were stumps or a woodcutter chopped them off for her. She earned redemption."

She snorted. "What piffle."

"That's the thing. Our fairytales are the same, but they're different. Remember how Shad was saying-"

She snarled. "That _mortal_ nearly ruined my book. Mention him again and-"

"He _said_," Link interrupted, "That his dad made that book. Doesn't the contents prove that he was wrong? I know they've been bothering you, or trying to, at least. Show them the insides, give them a proper look and they'll know that they were wrong. It's probably an imitation or something anyway."

She continued to snarl, gaze flicking uncertainly from book to Link and back again. She possessively had it against her chest, but this wasn't as big a resistance as she could make, and Link seized the chance. "Just one look, one tiny shuffle through that book of yours and they'll be off your back. If they're not I'll use dad to get them off you. It's a connection I hate but I still have it. So why not?"

She was wavering. He could almost see it. "It'll be a favour, Sheik, please?"

That seemed to do it. She sighed and bit her lip, but that was all he needed. "Fine. But no favour. I still owe you, remember?"

The Hylian blinked. "Since when?"

"You know, that morning? First night we got here and we slept together?"

Link choked on nothing and turned beat red. Sheik smirked. "Did I say something?"

"Don't, _ever_, say that in those words. We slept _beside each other_. That's it. If you say that we… people are going to get a real wrong idea in their heads."

She chuckled. "Alright, Wolfboy, but I still owe you for helping me, and such a small favour like this isn't worth keeping in mind. Come on; even if it hurts to do it, I guess getting my back free of those mortals would brighten my day."

The Hylian gulped and thought chaste thoughts like drinking tea in the middle of the desert in winter jackets and coats.

The image of Sheik sleeping in nothing but a very thin blanket in a patch of oasis in said desert ruined it, though.

…,…,…

"So what brought this on?" Shad wondered out loud as he received the book from Sheik's reluctant hands, neatly setting it in front of his desk and unravelling a parcel full of thin rods and brushes. He picked something that didn't look quite so threatening as its brethren before picking at some encrusted dirt and dust on the cover.

Sheik's face gave an irritable twitch each time some speck of her book was prized away by the instrument. "I wish you'd stop annoying me, and Link thought this would be a solution."

"Ah." Shad replied, "A sound argument, which I'm sorry to say is redundant. Your book isn't the only reason you worry us."

Sheik's face snapped. "Give me my book back. _Now_."

"Oh no, this is far too interesting," Shad politely inclined his head her way and smiled as Link barely restrained her. She gnawed at his sleeve like a dejected puppy and whimpered as Shad finally opened the book. "Besides, isn't this _my_ book since my father, deceased now by the way, created it?"

"Man," Link grumbled as he held a wriggling Sheik in a neck-bind, "If you don't stop that I _will_ let her go."

"I hope not," Shad shrugged idly as he picked at the pages and the cover with his equipment, "If you don't mind, I'd rather like to finish this on my own. It obviously hurts her to see me doing this to the book, so, you should come back in an hour or two. It'll be as good as new."

"I want it just the way it _was_, mortal!" Sheik yelled as Link dragged her back, "The way it _was_!"

"Come on," Link coaxed her out, turning her round to make her face him, "It'll be fine now. Once he's through with it, everything will be fine, they'll leave you alone, and you can get out of this place."

"But what if he breaks it, Link? What if he hurts it?"

"Then I'll break him in half. Sound fair?"

She looked at him sulkily before nodding. Link sighed in relief and gently led her away, where he was sure that Shad had heard their conversation; gods, only _cloth_ separated them, not wood or stone walls. Link grinned at the image of the scholar working hard not to mess Sheik's book of tales.

"So what now?" Sheik huffed, twirling a strand of hair in her fingers, "I've done everything I could these last two weeks. I've healed. I've prepared to leave, I've done everything I could possibly do. There are no chores to do here, I haven't _done_ anything since the attack, I… I still don't know who attacked us."

Link paused at that, and a feeling of sick worry curled in his stomach. "That's a good point."

"Or why, for that matter." Her whole face seemed to dawn in horror at the fact that she hadn't thought this through, that _none_ of them had through this through, because Link knew he should've thought of it earlier, should've _suspected_. Those bandits had never been powerful enough to summon one, much less three of those Shadow Beasts.

"But it can't be the Queen." Link argued before Sheik could get started; he could almost see the thought springing in her head. "It can't. You've done nothing wrong. You were living in the middle of the wilderness for crying out loud, taking care of _children_. It's not like any of them were criminals against the crown, were they?"

"But then why? _How_? It makes no _sense_, it-"

There were three blasts from a hunting horn from the slave-trade area. The signal seemed to make the whole Rebellion camp pause, until another three bursts of urgent sound made the place erupt in activity. There was shouting, hollering, and a mass of cluttering metal as men and women clamoured to fit in armour and swords and helms.

And the catcall all round was: "We're under attack! We're under-"

The shouting stopped only because something even louder was screaming and even from the far distance both Link and Sheik were brought to their knees, cramming their hands against their ears to block out the bellows that sounded like metal teeth grinding on a multitude of boulders and glass, and Link noted in the back of his mind that he himself was screaming in his efforts to block out the cry of the Shadow Beasts.

His eyes flew open at the realisation. The Shadow Beasts were here.

"This is _ridiculous_!" Link snapped as soon as the inhuman screaming stopped, "As soon as we mention them, _boom_! They stroll along to kill us. What are they, a jinx? Sheik, let's … Sheik?"

She was curled into a tight ball in the grass, trembling as panicked gasps escaped her. Link crouched down and gently held her shoulders, whispering her name over and over, listening to her strangled moaning.

"Not again," she moaned, "Not again, not again, please, please, no…"

"Sheik it's, okay it's not alright. Listen to me. Listen to me _right now_. You know where the kids are right? Run to them. Go get them and _run like hell_. I took them down last time I'll take them down again."

Another scream from the Beasts indicated the continuing battle, the defeated monsters rising from the dead once more. The two held onto each other tightly out of fear as the noise died down and the remaining soldiers grew more reluctant at heading out to fight.

"Sheik, _get up_." He grabbed her shoulders and wrenched her up and her eyes were wide with animal panic, and he shook her urgently by the shoulders. "Listen to me. _Run_. Get the kids, _run_."

She gasped once or twice, her sanity coming back with air. "But my book-"

He forced her onto her feet and pushed her. "I'll get it for you! Now go!"

She stumbled on the grass but she caught the air with her feet, and after a few shaky steps she _flew_, like an errant arrow past the confused and the ever frightened soldiers.

The Hylian ran towards the trees, and as soon as he was out of sight he shoved his hand in his collar, the shackle that he'd tied as a pendant round his neck chomping his wrists greedily and morphing him, painfully, into a wolf.

Link didn't stop running. His paws leapt over the foliage and his nose never lost the oily, half-rotten smell of the Beasts, not that it was necessary to track them down. The racket of their destruction could be heard from miles away, and it was easy to judge they were coming closer. Link didn't hope Sheik got away. Hope was useless.

A pack-leader _made sure_ that their enemy didn't win.

There was a scream that had nothing to do with monsters. Link skidded to a halt as a Hylian fell in his path, blood foaming out of his open mouth and wound in its gut. It died quickly.

The wolf crouched low and growled.

The enemies crashed through the foliage, and Link counted three, just like last time. All of the Beasts had a multitude of arrows in their sides, one particular one had three spears digging in its shoulder area. That one was about to fall.

So the last two. Link lunged to the side as the Hylians gathered round the weak one, striking its sides with their metal swords. It fell like a pile of meat, silent and sloppy and _stinking_ of maggots. They didn't cheer as the braver rushed for the next one, the smarter reached for quivers.

Link went for the liveliest one, barring his teeth and his throat rolling like thunder. It seemed to sense his hostile rage, and immediately turned on him, swiping one of its odd, hideous hands.

Link didn't even hesitate. He lunged straight for its neck and bit down hard, and the monster bellowed in agony. The wolf released its prey and leapt away, thinking, not yet, not yet, the other wasn't damaged enough.

But the soldiers were filling the thing with arrows faster than a shepherd could stuff his sack with wool. The thing roared and staggered like a drunken dog, and Link leapt at his own prey again.

There was no mercy. Link hacked the thing's neck with his teeth again and again and again and again, tearing ligaments and veins and muscles to pulp. The two last creatures fell almost at the same time, and a quiet shudder preceded their even quieter eruption, as they became nothing more than dust and specks of black ash.

A Hylian noticed Link's blood-soaked form.

"Hey!"

The wolf spat what he could of the abomination out of his mouth before quickly shuffling away into the under growth of the forests, retracing his steps to where he'd left his mate, where the smell of blood and flowers and fire would lead him to his pack.

…,…,…

The scent led him to his father's tent.

Moaning with tired exasperation, Link clamped his teeth round the shackle and slid it off, wincing as his joints popped and shifted, changing back to a man.

He cracked his knuckles and fingers, flexing them into a firm fist as he entered the tent.

"What the hell is going on?"

The occupants of the tent that weren't facing him turned round. Most of them were the kids and Sheik, most of the former looking scared and the latter looking particularly livid. She was held in place by three spearmen with their weapons poised against her neck, and Link glared murderously at them.

"Let her go, _now_."

They looked at Giovanni, sitting in the midst of his 'generals', for further instructions.

"Link," the fat man scowled, "You obviously don't see the gravity of the situation. This woman summoned those things to distract us while she kidnapped the children."

"She didn't kidnap us!" Talo yelled, though he didn't say anything else as the spears got a midge closer to Sheik's neck.

"We've been holding this camp for the last five years," Auru leaned against his knees as he peered at the young adults through his bushy eyebrows, "And we've never been attacked, not once, by those… those things."

"So you have a mole." Link spat.

"So we have you," Auru seemed to agree, now looking only at Sheik, "Who came in only a few days ago."

"But we got attacked by them too." This time it was Colin that spoke, "We'd know that sound anywhere. The bandits came at us with them, that's how we got separated from Sheik in the first place, right Link?"

"Yeah, yeah!"

"That's right!"

"Sheik wouldn't hurt just anybody!"

"Quiet!" Sheik spat, "Do you _want_ to be separated again? Hush it!"

The children sullenly agreed.

"It's clear that you don't believe me." Sheik huffed, a black sneer carving her face, "But you mortals always have some sort of leverage, don't you? What would it take for me to make you dunces do what I want? You know my wishes: let me and my familiars go. You think I brought those monsters, fine. Are these children worth so many men's lives, hmm? Let me take them and you can have your precious camp left alone. Or what, are you collective masochists?"

"Sheik," Link warned, even as the spearmen pressed the points of their weapons right up against her skin. "If you get yourself hurt, I _will_ do the honours of tearing these guys apart."

She shrugged confidently, glaring with her red mismatched eyes, her black lips fixed in a wicked smile. She glanced at the soldiers, one or twice tops, and almost by agreement they shuffled away, looking particularly scared.

Sheik turned her feral snarl to the Rebellion leaders. "Well?"

Shad spoke up then, patting something in his lap. "How about a trade?"

Link and Sheik fixed their gaze on Shade. The other gave him glares of outrage, but the young scholar went on, "This book was really interesting, even though I only got to see a little of it; but it _was_ enough to tell that it was definitely made by my father, and if the indentations in the cover say anything, they were holding jewels, once. The paper, handwriting, and the illustrations however, weren't something any _professional_ would use. Actually, as far as I could see the cover was ripped from its original book and was filled with the current contents."

Sheik snorted. "So?"

"This is a type of paper specifically used in only one location in Hyrule; care to take a guess, fairy?"

The addressed immortal grinned. "The Castle I suppose?"

"Close, but no. The answer's the Arbiter's Grounds."

Link felt goose bumps rattle his arms as the rebel leaders hissed and looked at Sheik in disgust. The fairy looked confused. "What's an arbiter?"

"The Arbiter's Grounds," Link explained, "Is Hyrule's prison, built to house the most ruthless criminals while they wait for trial, exile, or execution. It's located just inside the borders of the Gerudo desert, so you can imagine the conditions there and, what with the queen not really caring whether they're really innocent or guilty… people that end up there don't tend to come out."

Sheik snorted and rolled her eyes. "So you're wondering how something from the Land of No Return ended up in my hands, is that it? If I told you, would you be letting us go?"

"I don't want the story as much as the storyteller, if you get my drift," Shad shrugged, peering at Sheik inquisitively.

"Don't." Link held her shoulder and made her turn round. "Don't do it."

"Why not? I could easily track them down within a few days. Besides," Sheik grinned like a hungry shark as she added with relish, "I haven't had a hunt like this in _years_."

"It's settled then," Giovanni spoke loudly and bustled everybody out, "We'll prepare for the festivities to celebrate the victory against the unknown enemy, mourn the dead, and send our little fairy here on her way to our mystery storyteller. Go on, then, go on!"

Link growled at his father's insensitivity before dragging Sheik away to have a good talk with her.

…,…,…

"_What_, are you trying to do?"

"Ah, the memories," Sheik sighed impishly, "You sound just like my mortal mother, Din. She _hated it_ when I came back from fighting bears, those things sported the nastiest of cuts…"

"What part of _prison_ do you not understand?" Link yelled, gesticulating wildly, "If what Shad said was true, then you're going after a mass murderer or a combat magician or _something_ completely and utterly out of your-"

She burst out laughing, interrupting his rant. "Link," she cooed, "My _mothers_ gave me the book. I lied when I said I took them from a mortal's corpse. Don't you see, everything's staring to make sense!"

The young Hylian blinked at the strange girl's excited face. "Really?"

"My mothers and I were always running away, and I think it was from your Queen. They must have escaped from your abbot's ground or whatever it's called, and she must have taken them away from me. This could lead me to my mothers! They might not be dead!"

"But that's… what are the chances, _really_? How sure are you that you won't be hurt?"

"Enough to risk it, and I can always bring some poor hopeless dolt from the prison in my mothers' place to sing tales to these mortals."

Link was confused again, and that really irritated him. "What?"

"They want an explanation for my book, don't they? For what they've made me do, I'll have them listen to another prisoner's twaddle, because they sure won't get an answer from _me._"

Link gave an exasperated sigh. This _fairy_. This stupid, rash, irresponsible, cocky, _fairy_. He really, really wanted to strangle her right now.

"Wolfboy, will you do me a favour?"

She was holding his face, her expression pleading. That alone made his heart pick up its pace, and the feel of her cold hands against his skin only added to his surprise. He clamped his palms against her small hands, crying out, "Sheik, you're freezing!"

"I don't have blood, remember? Or at least the warmth of your mortal hearts; that's goes to show how different I am from you."

"That's not…" Link distractedly looked at where the cluster of camps were, a brand new fire burning in the midst of it. He could sort of see Giovanni making a speech; after all, that was all he was good at, wasn't it? Giving things that optimistic spin…

Link looked back, and in the firelight and the twilight of the setting day, her eyes seemed to spark and glow under her hair that fell and hung like an ill-used threadbare curtain, wild and untamed like snow, dulling the sharpness of her features, accenting the soft lilt of her mouth…

"I want to find my mothers, Link, even if they've already rotted away." She spoke softly, forlornly, as her red gaze bore into his. "Will you make sure my familiars are safe?"

Link tried resisting that charm of hers, failed, and sighed. "Alright…"

"Good. Take my blessing."

The next thing he knew she was tugging him forwards, a warm mist puffed her words to his lips, and there was a brush, then a press, of warm skin against his mouth that sent shocks up and down his spine, so suddenly gone that he had no time to react, but it had lingered for the shortest, most amazing eternity, enough to feel her hair flutter against his ear, taste the crushed flowers and leaves on her flesh, her soft gasp as she fled wrenching at his footing, making the world stagger.

When he collected himself she was gone. Link covered his mouth with his hand, heat scorching his face. He thought he could hear her giggle, sprite-like.

He licked his lips, unnaturally warm, trying to calm the hammer of his heart.

…,…,…

Zelda was looking for her brother and finally found him sitting on a log in front of his tent, staring at a nothing, a doped smile on his face. As she approached he seemed not to notice; he gave a sporadic giggle once or twice before she sat down.

"If I didn't know better, which I hope I do," was her disturbed sentence, "You've been in Auru's liquor and pipes."

Link shook his head in a negative, licking his lips, unable to stop smiling. "I think she kissed me."

Zelda perked up. "Ashei? Really?"

He snorted at that. "Yeah, right. Take a second guess."

His sister frowned, shifting through her memory for a constant female face in the camp that Link had carried on with for the last two weeks, and a black smirk rose, hovering in her mind tauntingly. She paled. "Not… not Sheik?"

"Yep. Sheik." The young man laughed, a little bitterly, almost, "And the best part is that she called it a blessing. Here I am, over the moon that she kissed me but she probably still thinks I'm a low _mortal_. Bugger it all…"

"Link, I, I don't think she's the right girl for you. Ashei…"

"She's too into this movement or function or whatever you guys are calling it for me to connect. 'Sides, she's got enough admirers as it is. But Sheik…"

"But she's so… so _possessive, _she treats you like a pet, she gallivants around pretending to be some mythical creature,"

"Alright she still hasn't _fully_ convinced me she's a fairy but she's close enough-"

"She has no sense of propriety, or honesty, or morals-"

"Hey, hey, hey!" Link interrupted, a frown breaking his smile, "Why so objective?"

"That's not the right term, Link." Zelda chided sourly, "Besides you always _disapproved_ of the boys fancying me, so why shouldn't I?"

"Uh," the young man rolled his eyes, "Because you were never interested or thought they were pricks and you _asked_ me to make them leave you alone? And the scenario here is _I_ fancy _her_. She… she probably just considers me a friend."

"Even less so." The priestess deadpanned, "She treats you, as I said, like a _brainless pet_."

"_Now_," he warned her, "You're crossing the line."

"May I ask what _line_? She's cruel, she's foul, and-"

"She's kind, she's wonderful, and I've known her longer than you. So there." Link spat, yanking himself onto his feet.

"That book was meant for a King, Link!" Zelda yelled after him, "There were indents in the cover for _jewels_, the royal insignia was printed in the back, there was a trace of a Triforce at the bottom of the spine! Your Sheik is connected to the Queen more ways than she's saying, She's a liar, Link, a _liar_!"

Link clenched his hands into fists, ground his teeth, and made himself turn away. There was no point fighting his sister, he knew that. But he couldn't _believe_ the nerve of her! The one time he truly needed some assurance that yes, Sheik just _might _love him, Zelda throws it back in his face. So much for a kindly sister.

He nibbled his lips, trying to recapture the moment, but it was gone, just like her, and something deep inside ached.

"… shall be going tomorrow!"

Link stopped and paid attention to his surroundings. He was at Giovanni's bonfire, where the mass of freedom fighters were cheering him on. Link hissed in disgust and was about to turn away and look for Epona when Giovanni pointed at him.

"My son! There he is! He and all who have been chosen by our gracious generals shall be accompanying Rusl to the ruins of the Temple of Time, to find the Master Sword, and by its glorious power we will _crush_ the Unjust Queen!"

The young man froze as there was another roar from the masses.

The Master Sword? But that was a fairy tale. It had to be.

Giovanni looked at his shell-shocked son, and grinned smugly.

* * *

_Once upon a time, there was Kingdom ruled by a Sorceress that dabbled in all manners of magic. She was an unhappy ruler, for her most prized possession had been spirited away by her evil attendants._

_Diligently she worked through her magic texts and by the light of sun and moon and lightning, was able to bend spirits to her will, call the dead to her aid, make the fires dance, to guide water where she pleased. But she could not conquer the Forests nor Time that kept the Treasure forever cloaked in secrecy and day by day destroyed her chances at recovering it from obscurity._

_So desperate was she to regain her Treasure she hired mercenaries and troops to search for men of suspicious occupation, for women who had strange powers, for animals of divine and hellish nature, and they were brought to her without delay. She stole the secrets of the men and women and in turn offered their bodies and souls to gain alliances or pardon from the creatures she summoned. She told her people that these men and women were lawless (which inevitably was true) and had deserved such grisly and bloody ends. _

_In such a way the Sorceress stooped into Dark Magic, and uncovered things best left alone, and one of them were the Exiled._

_The Exiled were a flighty race of creatures so purely magic that the very entrance of the Sorceress into their realm seemed to fuel the woman's hunger for power. The Sorceress learnt of new spells, of new curses and enchantments and potions that brought eternal life and beauty and whatever else she desired. _

_However, the Exiled were named thus for a reason. They'd done wrong, and their wrong lived in their very veins. As the Sorceress ate their magic they smiled, and they smiled wider as their magic ate at _her_. Their secret revenge for their imprisonment in the dark, committed millennia ago, went so well they overestimated their guest's power. An assassination the Sorceress orchestrated against their leader turned into a war. _

_A week passed. Though powerful she may have been, and had won and stolen many times over, soon the Sorceress was only a bloody husk that had offended too many of the Exiled. _

_The Sorceress ran screaming from the Exiled Realm, swearing vengeance and triumph. The Exiled followed after her, pulsing into the mortal world like new blood, and so the great age of Magic began. _

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**Well, the story's moving forward, eh? More action in the next chapter, and plot twists too! I'm just hoping that it works...**

**ANyway, here's review replies for ya!**

_**Hatsusen: **_**Awww, oops, cavities? I'm sorry. Though I am very glad that you got to enjoy reading the sweet biots! ;D**

**_Human Riot:_ I know! Zelda just keeps on interrupting! Gosh, Zel, you are such a worry wart. Well, in her defense, Sheik IS pretty damn creepy... And look at what she did! Turning Link in putty. Gosh. XD**

**_CatsgotTongue_: Thanks you muchly! XD Zelda has her moments, definitely. I hope this one was worth the wait too, cuz I sure as hell know that it was damned loooooong wait...**

**_Teriyaki Chicken_: ...yeah, sorry about the long wait. Forgive me? Please?**

**_Me_: Thank you! I work hard to please. XD And don't worry, Link will be a wolf soon enough, big time. He did sort of appear this time, but I'm assuming you're hoping for an even bigger part, so it shall be coming! Hope you'll be able to stick with me for a while. XP**

**_Firefox Vixen_: Thank you! Hope you read more!**

**_WolfsLegend_: Thank you! God, these guys are such awkward people when it comes to romance. It doesn't help that Sheik's kinda... secretive. There's more to song! Hope you stick with this long enough to hear the rest!**

**_simply anonymous_: Thank you! And Link got his kiss, yay! XD And then the angst gets involved... **

**_CatsgotTongue_: Yeah, Ashei's like Loz's very ownn Snow White. Only she doesn't have that annoying squeaky voice. And she kicks butt.**

**_Bryan-Lion_: Thanks for the compliment! Hope you got to catch this!**


	13. The Twilight Princess

**Okaaaaay!**** So I DO exist! XD It's been ages since I posted for this story, and boy oh boy am I glad to finally get right to it!**

**Not that I should be. I technically have exams (why do I alwas post things when I have exmas?) now and I know I'm probably going to fail three out of four of them. That... kinda sucks. **

**I've cleaned up some stuff on this fic, so if you were a new reader that travelled all the way to chapter 13, thanks for making it here, and I'm glad you didn't have a look at the previsou format. **

**Anyway, here it is! Hope you like!**

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_The Twilight Princess_

They stopped their tramp and began to set up tents. Epona whinnied plaintively, asking for food, and her owner gave it willingly as he unpacked his things from the horse. The twilight encroached, the wind was getting colder. Once camp was set and fires roared under pots of water and dried meat, Link pressed his palms against his face and sighed, not quite sure how he'd been dragged into this mess.

Oh who was he kidding, he knew exactly how/why, and none of his reasons were selfless.

The Master Sword was a legend, a myth, a _fairytale_, and yet these buggers as well as himself were questing for it like deluded nuts. They wanted it to rid themselves of Veran, the Queen. Link on the other hand… _he_ wanted to look for it because he just wanted it.

Come on. It was the _Master Sword_. It was every kid's dream to wield it.

Though he thought it wise not to say it out loud. The other soldiers had been handpicked by the leaders of the rebellion, for their bravery, their skill, their dedication. He was here simply because of his dear old dad, because _he_ wanted his son to wield a legend and strengthen his claim on the throne.

Like Link would let Giovanni use him like that...

Besides, he would be the last to try out the weapon; the others knew Giovanni had planted him there for his own reasons. Link had gotten a shower of resentful glares the whole tramp.

But still, if he could wield it, if he was chosen by the blade... maybe, just maybe, Sheik would consider him less as a mortal, and maybe he could win her over.

A kiss wouldn't be a blessing. It would be for real.

He bit his lip, frowning at the fact that he couldn't recall the moment anymore.

...,...,...

Sheik shivered, curling into a tighter ball, pulling the cloak into herself so hard it almost hurt. A fire would be ideal at this point, but her limbs were stiff from flying, magic coursing through her blood and bones, and they were demanding for a rest. The cloak she wore on top of her old, patched red one was thick and heavy, good for travel, but still the chilly wind sneaked through and bit her.

She'd gotten too used to warmth, of comfort and company. She missed the snores of her familiars, she missed the light of her fairies, yet guiltily yet happily yet glumly, she missed her wolfboy most, his warm body, his protective arm, his fierce snarl.

She missed generally annoying him. It was fun. Well, it _had_ been fun.

Sheik shivered again, sighing irritably. The moon glared bright in the sky. She cursed it for not being as warm as him.

...,...,...

Link glugged water down his throat, and gave an irritated sigh. "So, where are we going again?"

One of the soldiers—Tom, Link thought his name was—glowered at Link before replying, "The old Temple of Time."

"Yes, yes, I get that part," the teenager waved off impatiently, "It's _where_ the Temple of Time is that I'm worried about."

"According to these maps, it's not far from our base, deeper in the forests. We'll know when we get close; I hear the trees are large as castles."

"Hmm," Link replied noncommittally. He really looked at the ragtag group that he was following into the depths of the unknown, and he was somewhat re-worried by what he saw. Men ranging from his age to late thirties, and Rusl. There were twenty of them together, not including himself, and while some of them looked excited, others were clearly worried. The excited tended to be the younger while the worried were older, and Link thought that was fair; the excited probably hoped for a fairytale come true, like himself, while the elder held deeper fears, which Link came to realise, were similar to his own.

It had been several centuries since the Master Sword, if it indeed existed, had been wielded last. Unless it was impervious against wind, rain, snow, hail, time, and realistically, bird-droppings and insects, it would be a mess, a relic beyond salvaging.

The name itself worried him, too. The _Master_ Sword. He wondered out loud that night as they ate round the fire, why it was called thus. The younger members scoffed and easily replied:

"Because it's the best of all blades, the Master above all weapons."

"Because the one who wields it has mastered the skill of swordplay, and has proven himself the strongest swordsman above all."

Yeah, Link frowned as he thought, but that was what the fairytales said. Fairytales also said that fairies were gentle and kind. Sheik was _everything_ but.

He repeated the question to the elder, and they shrugged. "Perhaps it's because the blade chooses its own Master?"

So Link moodily brooded over the name of the sword, his mind niggling over the fact that, if he was a sword, and if he'd been wielded, used, by countless heroes, he'd get sick of it after the first four, especially if they really were country bumpkins who knew next to nothing on fighting.

Link shuddered. What if the Master Sword had no Master but itself?

...,...,...

Sheik was wondering how hard it could be to find her mothers, though dead they could be, and how hard it would be for her to meet them again. Her clue was the Arbiter's grounds, or so it's called, but the likelihood of them being there was rather low, was it not? And a prison at that, why would they have been imprisoned? What kind of crime could they have committed?

The only crime _she_ remembered them being guilty of was of them leaving her behind.

She remembered the memories terribly; it was a part of her life that she refused to forget, because that was how mortal adults were, that was why she could only trust children, familiars she bred to be like her, to know only her and love only her.

Though that logic was utterly confused now, thanks to Link.

Link. She smiled at the name, shyly. Then the thought of her mothers grounded her.

They'd left her when her head had pounded like a rock on ice, her throat raw as exposed shredded flesh, tears and sweat cloying over her face. They'd left her, just like that, abandoned her in that miller's cottage with enough food and clothes and other such things to last for months, wrapped in her red cloak, the old book for her pillow, and it burned to the pit of her stomach even now, the betrayal, the anguish, the confusion.

She'd acted indifferently in front of him (by gods, so much acting, so much falsehood in front of him, it was ridiculous) but she was aching inside, because she wanted to know. She wanted to know _why_ they'd left her.

And depending on the reasons...

Red descended on her vision, rage burned through her, and something _snapped_.

Coming back to herself and alarmed with what she'd done, Sheik hurried away as people shouted at the noise she'd made, leaving behind the large boulder smouldering, split open like a criminal's head.

...,...,...

It worried him somewhat that he couldn't comfortably sleep without her. Too many days travelling together, too many nights huddled close.

She was probably fine, but him? He was like a pet dog pining for his master.

Cursing, Link bundled his blanket and mattress from the ground and shuffled away from the fire, making a nest of cloth beside Epona's large form before slipping on the manacle.

He crouched low on his belly and curled into his blankets, panting happily at how the warmth got trapped in the folds of cloth and in his fur. Link licked his paws and washed his ears like he'd seen cats do before nestling his long jaw onto the ground, wet nose pocking out from his sleeping nest so it would smell any intruders when they came by.

The magic he sensed in his very bones reminded him of her, so his pining abated enough for him to fall asleep.

...,...,...

She knew where the arbiter's grounds were, now that she'd 'asked' a few mortals for directions, but it sickened her to think that it involved going over some hills and crossing a desert to get there.

But then she stopped at an awesome sight, a giant mirror placed in the earth, the banks a little to the east infested with buildings and Hylians. She blinked, mesmerised by its reflection of the light and sky, and realised after a blank second that this must be a lake. She could resupply on food, energy. She drifted towards the town, her toes trailing the water's surface.

She vaguely recalled Link mentioning this place, wasn't it his old home? Wasn't it where _his_ mother had died?

Once inside the town she looked for the graveyard, found her name on a white tombstone proclaiming her to be the mother of Zelda and Link, delicately carved, though relatively small. Her grave had been neglected somewhat, and there were no offerings left for her.

Sheik spent a few hours ridding it of weeds, and buried a few leaves known for their scent into the earth. Her black lips tweaked upward a little self-depreciatively as Sheik bowed her white head and closed her mismatched eyes. "I'm thankful I met your son, though I hardly think he feels the same for me. If my mothers are with you, I hope they don't speak too ill of me. If not... I hope they'll be good friends to you, on the chance they force my hand."

Coldly, Sheik stood and prepared to fly. For good or ill, her mothers were waiting.

...,...,...

At noon, Link suppressed the urge to ask, 'Are we there yet?'

When they were readying for sleep and Link was told to keep watch for the night, he thought he felt something in the air. Once alone, he slipped the manacle on, and growled.

The wolf could feel something. Something dark, something light, something in between, clashing like a bag full of glass shards, sparking in the distance.

They were close.

...,...,...

The desert was boiling in the day and freezing in the night. If it hadn't been for the giant sandworms that she'd killed she would've been doomed within the first day there. Their giant form protected her from the sun while she slept, and their flesh, though disgusting, gave her enough food to last the journey.

She could see a towering structure in the distance, polished stone glinting metallically in the moonlight. She _flew_, racing against time and the cold and her own anxiety, desperate to reach the prison and its occupants.

She had a feeling that she wouldn't reach it for another day or two. She hoped another few sandworms attacked her, to relieve her frustration and to give her more shade for the scorching daylight hours.

...,...,...

They'd been walking in between trees as big as mansions for two days, and finally, they found a clearing in which the ruins of a fair-sized temple sat comfortably in its bubble of timelessness, sleeping in a blanket of roots and ivy, birds' nests nestled in many of its broken nooks, the occupants singing the once grand place a lullaby to keep it at rest.

Link had a feeling something bad was going to happen to them for disturbing the peace.

Not to mention the magic. Even without being in wolf-mode he could feel it, the clashing, the _oddness_ of it. It made him feel a little queasy.

The order was given to spread out, and they did so. Link detached himself completely from the group, not so eager to find the sword anymore, not when his instincts told him that something was going on, that he was on the wrong side of the territory line.

It was hard to believe that they were in any danger, when the sun shone green and gold in this ancient place, dust motes and pollen drawing strange patterns into the air, scenting the ruins with mystery and grace.

Link sat down on a piece of jutted rock, taking a swig of water and enjoying the breeze before carrying on.

If he was a sword, sought after for many years, where would he be? At the back of the temple, kept secret, safe, preferably with a guardian or two. He gazed at the temple, at the caved in ceiling, the buckling walls. Then he noticed a tree _inside_ the building, its healthy leaves and branches poking out of the stones.

A courtyard?

Link climbed the walls, scaled the jutted masonry, before jumping down.

Definitely a courtyard, though it'd gone completely wild over the years. He looked around, noting the other soldiers that'd already found the place through the more normal means (a door) before strolling through. He disturbed some birds with his presence, chirping indignantly as they flew away. There were a few places that he couldn't walk without cutting down some branches, untamed in their strength and beauty. Link refrained from cutting them, considering the others were doing enough damage to the wild garden on their own.

Link sighed. Sheik would've loved this place...

...,...,...

Sheik knew instinctively to hate this place, just by looking at it.

Maybe it had been a grand place once, with its towering obelisks, the grand masonry, the extensive skill of carving, building, shaping, painting. Its colossal size attested to years of work, the detail portraying the brilliance of the minds that'd designed this place. But she could feel the hate, the despair and rage and sorrow and pain in the very sand that surrounded the building, as if it had soaked through with the blood of the executed, their spirits screaming for release from the scorching dry hell they'd been left in to rot.

Sheik hesitated before hiding. She hoped the night would be more forgiving with its chill, easing the dead instead of riling them up, like the scorching heat of the sun did.

The fairy spat in distaste at the mortals that still guarded the prison, clearly unaware of the invisible turmoil that rocked the very foundations of the grounds. Then she paused. She squinted her eyes, drew her black lips into a twist of confusion, because these mortals lumbered around like misshapen creatures, they spoke in spits and growls, like monsters...

Then a violent shiver raked her spine, for the pages from her book had come from here, every single one of its thin, tough pages. _Why_? Why would her mothers take such things from a place like _here_? How had they gotten there in the first place anyway? None of this made sense, _none_.

Then she remembered a phrase they'd repeated to her often, one she'd detested because of her impatience.

_You'll understand. When you're older, you'll understand. _

Sheik began to sing, to pass the time.

...,...,...

There was a shout to gather, and it sounded extremely disappointed. Link saw it coming, but still winced at the sight as he joined the soldiers that'd fought through the bushes into the inner courtyard.

Weeds skittered over the cobble-stone floors, and guardian statues lay shattered by roots and storms, their bodies green with moss. Beyond them was an archway, it too crumpled by time and nature. The others were gathering beyond it, and Link followed suit. The archway led to a staircase, almost a slope because of the erosion, debris dotting the grass like crumbs. A pedestal, discoloured. Remnants of a Triforce mark, mostly covered by greenery.

The Master Sword stood, cloaked in ivy, clothed in rust and dust. Birds chirped on its cracked pommel till the men chased them away, and the attempts at making a nest there scattered. The blade was chipped; the hilt was falling apart. The legend had died in its sleep.

Link stared at the blade, sighing; after coming all this way... they get this.

A smile tweaked his lip. Typical of a fairytale, to screw him over.

"This is unbelievable!"

Link frowned. That one was... Marlo? Was that his name?

"We've come all this way for this? Rusted _scrap_? Where is the Master Sword? Where is it?"

A friend of his put a hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged it roughly away. "Marlo..."

"I think we're looking at it," was Link's snarky comment, for which he earned a few glares. "What did you expect? It's been here for years, hell, centuries if you believe the legends. Out in the open, without care, of course it'll be ruined. Give the blade a break."

"But the Master Sword is supposed to be magic!"

"Magic has its limits," Link shrugged, putting a hand into his pocket and fingering the wrapped manacle, "It can't last forever."

"But look," a few of the braver, or the more curious, had approached the sword and was eyeing it with some wonder, peeling the leaves carefully away from it. "The pedestal still looks new, these vines are young, and there are things missing from this that might suggest that the blade isn't so old."

"So?"

"The Master Sword could've been stolen?"

"Guys..." Link stepped back, away from the crowd, eyeing the trees around them. He was gripping the manacle tightly in his hands, and the half-vision granted by the object made him see the traces of the clashing magic, light and half-light and non-light.

The _non_-light was reacting like crazy.

Link took it out of his pocket in his right hand as he unsheathed the sword he'd been issued with his left, blinking dizzily as he tried to catch what was happening, what had happened with the magic. Damnit, Sheik would know...

"What... what's that?"

He didn't know who it was but he didn't care. Link threw his gaze up and searching for _that_, and he found it. So did the others.

As one they unsheathed their swords.

The bird-like creature beat its powerful black leathery wings to circle them, slowly, dangerous, shark-like. As if it'd sensed that it'd been found, it blared like a broken trombone, alien and surreal. Its body seemed to glow oily runes, like the Shadow beasts, and Link knew, just _knew_ that this thing was its cousin, only more dangerous, bloodthirsty. Its obsidian claws raked the sky eagerly as it pushed its wings through the air, turning towards them.

It had no eyes (typical, a part of him that'd gotten used to such things scoffed). All it had was a gaping maw, surrounded in flapping flesh that resembled too-lively flatworms, looking almost like a demented daisy, dark and treacherous as the rest of the creature. It roared again, sounding oddly _fake_, showing him rows of sharp teeth that spiralled down its throat.

It was a hell of a lot bigger than the Shadow Beasts.

"Duck!" Link yelled, jumping down the stairs, "And scatter!"

The thing blared again, diving.

There was a scream to his left and Link whirled round and saw the bird take flight with a shield in its jaw, taking the soldier who bore the equipment with it. The man was slashing, vainly, at the bird and was released upon giving it a glancing blow.

He dropped a very long way down and landed in some bushes.

Link winced as the creature writhed in the air, more angered than hurt by the cut.

It snapped its wings shut and _plummeted_ straight towards them, tearing them back out and swooping low into the ground, bowling over a good half of the scattered men with its brutal wings, claws and screech.

Link ducked down as the bird-thing charged straight towards him and hoped Epona would stay where she was tied instead of stampeding goddesses knew where in this forsaken forest.

As it came he thrust his sword up, the force of the creature's flight tearing the weapon out of Link's hands and _into_ the beast's body. The roar the move elicited forced Link to clamp his hands into his ears and its thrashing tail caught him square in the gut as it passed. The Hylian gasped and doubled over as the beast hurtled into the ground, clods of earth and grass erupting as it skidded and crashed into one of the crumbling walls surrounding the place.

Link didn't see the others who'd grabbed bows cover the writhing creature in arrows. If he had, and if he'd had the breath, the lack of agony in his torso, he would've stopped them. He curled into a foetal position and wretched bile, his hands glowing with his healing magic, instinctively stifling the pain; thankfully there were no broken bones, but fear and pain shook him, gritting his teeth against the idea that the bird would come back to life and kill them all again and again...

But it didn't come back. In fact it quickly crumbled out of existence, like its flesh and blood had turned to dirt and dust.

Briefly relieved, Link concentrated on getting his gut to stop hurting so much before trying to stand. He stumbled onto his backside, still clutching his stomach, wincing and knowing full well that he'd been lucky. Then he looked up, balked, and yelled, "There're _more_!"

The others looked at the sky and scattered. Link's breathing grew erratic as he counted the flyers, five, eight, no seven. There were seven of them, circling like sharks, and one by one they tucked their wings into their bodies and plunged.

They didn't need to regenerate; they had numbers.

Link swallowed, telling his stomach to hurry the hell up and _heal_ gods _damn it_, thinking how he hadn't been able to beat the other creatures, the Shadowbeasts, as a _mortal_. But he couldn't change into a wolf, not now, not when the others would accuse him of cowardice if he hid to change, not when they could connect his absence with the appearance of the wolf.

Two or three of them had seen him kill the Shadowbeast back at the camp, and he didn't like the idea of his secret coming out.

Link rolled away as claws went for his head, stumbling towards the earthy mound the bird-beast had become, where his sword would be lying, waiting for him.

He pulled it out of the mess and swore; the blade was pockmarked with the beginnings of rust. Not that he had time to complain about it; one of the black birds was shooting straight towards him, round mouth wide open with the spiralling teeth gnashing for his flesh.

Link lunged to the side as he swiped his weapon diagonally up, using both his move and the inertia of the creature to divert its murderous path _over_ his shoulder rather than into it. The beast roared, corkscrewing up into the air to compose itself before lunging down again, talons first this time to try and pry Link's sword away from him.

Link gave no quarter. He didn't even bother with his shield; in fact he threw it away, so he'd be lighter, faster, cutting at the talons instead of dodging, weaving his way around the sharp claws and battering wings, spilling dark green blood onto the grass. He roared right back as the thing lost one of its legs to his fighting; he roared further when the thing tried to escape.

He didn't have his bow and arrow; so he threw his weapon at the giant bird and it miraculously buried itself hilt deep in the creature's breast.

The bird fell without a sound and dissipated just as quietly. His sword was a lump of rust.

Link jogged over to retrieve it, checking the surroundings as he did so. The others were fighting just as hard, bringing the creatures down with arrows before delivering the final blow with hard steel. There were significantly less of the beasts, though there were quite a few soldiers on the ground, unmoving, gashes long and wide as a man's arm ripping them open like dolls.

White hot pain ripped the back of his shoulder. Link howled as the force of the attack lifted him up, bore him through air, and flung him _hard_ against the ground. The wound smouldered with pain and Link gave a guttural cry, back arching as blood ran down his now useless arm. His head rang from the impact against the earth; then the ring turned into a shudder as the bird that'd attacked him bore down on him again.

Adrenaline and something else pumped, throbbed, _pulsed_ in his very soul and he spun and _cleaved, _his fingers ripping through the flabby, flapping flesh that surrounded the gaping maw of the creature like the flowers of a petal, making it howl and stumble back in the air. Then the pain came back and Link cried out, gasping with terror and shock and agony as he watched his unhurt arm with the dangerously clawed hand, lose fur, shed pads, become less wolf-like and more his own.

Once his arm was back to normal he wiped it on the grass as best he could, thinking of staunching the blood-flow of his wound.

A screech sent terror up and down his spine and the bloody bird was coming back despite losing half its face to him.

Link stumbled onto his feet, looking for something, _anything _to fight back with but all he saw was the sword in the pedestal and Link couldn't believe himself but he had to, because he had no choice so he _ran_, ran up the stairs, to the pedestal, and grabbed the Master Sword with his uninjured hand, and _yanked._

...,...,...

Link didn't know quite where he was, nor could he describe it; he just got the feeling that he was in a safe place, a private place, where he was the metaphorical king. His own room with the door locked, a hidden place that only he knew. He could do what he liked and nobody would complain, not in a million years.

He squinted at the figure racing towards him, and after it was close enough to work out details, Link sighed and loosened his hold on his weapon. He opened his arms and Sheik flew into his chest, knocking the wind out of him with an _oof_.

"Sorry," she muttered into his shirt, clinging on tightly, "It's just so good to see you."

She let him go, and he got a good, close up view of her half hidden face, complete with black lips and crimson iris, before she surged up and cupped his face in her hands like that night that seemed too long ago, and she kissed him.

This time he'd been expecting it. No, desperately hoping for it. Link kissed her back with the eagerness of a parched man in a desert drinking at the first stream in days. He held her like he'd never let go. Her lips were soft and so completely human that Link just wanted more and more, and his heart raced at the low croon that escaped her as he pressed his mouth against her cheek, jaw, neck, lower…

She grabbed his hair and promptly dragged him back where she wanted him; he kissed her again, completely at her command and loving the heat that rose with every single touch.

She pushed him into a wall that hadn't existed till a second ago, and he didn't care, because what he'd wanted for months now was here and there was no need to stop, not ever.

His shoulder-blade flared in pain and he hissed, arching at the sudden agony. It dulled almost immediately and he was half drunk again as a tongue trailed up his exposed neck, but still he wondered, how the hell did that get there?

A flash of memory sent a shiver hurtling down his spine, a fleshy face that bloomed like a maggoty flower and roared like a broken trumpet. Leathery wings, terrible claws.

He pushed her away, gasping, fear making him tremble.

She stroked his cheek in concern, cocking her head to the side. "Link, what's wrong? Are you alright?"

He looked at her, really _looked_ at her and Sheik seemed to go misty for a second, but she was solid as flesh and bone. It made no sense. "Yeah, I'm fine, but…"

His shoulder ached, from the attack. How had gotten from the attack to _here_?

He looked at her again, confused, and she sighed and giggled, and her voice changed. "It's nice to know that _some_ youngsters can stick to their tasks, distractions included."

The voice was hers, but it was layered with someone else's like two people talking at once. It was creepy. Link hastily let her go. "Who are you?"

The Not Sheik took a step back with hands raised defensively, still smiling. "There's no need to sound so angry, honestly. I'm just a manifestation of your desire, and my oh my this is an unusual one." It paused and then corrected itself, "Well, the liking the girl isn't unusual, but the girl sure is. I like her name. It's got a nice ring to it."

"_What_ are you?"

Link grabbed behind his shoulder but there was no sword, no shield, no provisions, nothing. He was completely defenceless.

Not-Sheik chuckled, sidling closer till her body was pressed against his, and her warmth slid through him like a tide as she stood on her toes, whispering in his ear, "Your desire."

"Yeah," Link croaked, desperately keeping himself in line, "If that were true I wouldn't be able to resist at all, wouldn't I? Shad warned me about things like you."

"Aw," A gentle kiss was pressed against his jaw before Not-Sheik backed away. "You're right, unfortunately. Do you remember what they were guarding?"

That thing. That thing? It took a while for him to remember.

"Those things..."

"Half-mark. They're Shadow Kargoroks. Now, come on, what were they guarding?"

"The Master Swor… Oh no. No _way_."

She grinned. "What's _no way_?"

"Oh Furore," Link whined, wishing his fears hadn't been so _accurate_;"The Master Sword has a conscience? You're in my head…"

She laughed gleefully, and it sounded like a chorus. "Correct! Very good. Oh I've always loved smart heroes."

Link grabbed her, it, whatever by the elbow and shook it. "Do me a favour, and _get out_."

She glared at his impudence. "Not till I make sure you're prepared. Since we're talking you're worthy as far as I'm concerned, but I'm not sure whether you're prepared."

"So not losing my head over you pretending to be Sheik doesn't count?"

She closed the gap between them and sighed into his chest, almost purring as she circled an arm round his neck. "Only half."

Link tensed and placed his hands on her shoulders to shove her away, telling himself that _this-is-not-Sheik_, but this was so much like her in shape and size and smell...

Giving up, Link held her by the shoulders and squeezed. "Just tell me what I need to do. I want _my _Sheik, not… not something my head and you decided to stir up. What's the test?"

"Mm," she kissed his neck and smiled at him. "Just answer a few questions, I suppose."

Link rolled his eyes. "Fine."

"Will you fight for good?"

He frowned. "Isn't that what I'm doing?"

"How should I know? I don't read minds."

Link rolled his eyes. "Fine, yes then. I will fight for good."

"Will you fight for goodness even if your good, and thus my goodness, defied every other person's definition of good? Will you protect the goodness of good?"

"…You're just being difficult now, aren't you. That is so Sheik."

She glowered. "Answer the question, Wolf boy."

Link huffed as he contemplated it. He let her go and scratched his head, and looked at her, thinking… "Right, let's put it this way. I'd protect Sheik. Because she means everything to me. Even if my family hates her, I'd protect her because as far as I'm concerned she is my definition of goodness. Happy?"

"But what if she kills someone?"

"She wouldn't."

"What _if_, I said," Not-Sheik snapped, her many-layered voice amplifying with deep baritones and bases, the chorus now a symphony of noise. "What if your Sheik killed another, hurt another, hurt _you_? What if the good that you strived to protect somehow backfired into you, would you protect it still? Would you swallow your anger and resentment and betrayal and keep fighting for it?"

"No." Link retorted angrily. "Because then it wouldn't be good anymore."

"But that's just _your_ good, isn't it? Just because the good you strived for turned on you, you deem yourself better, _more good_, and you lash against it. For all you know _you've _turned from goodness and you'd never know because you cut it down. You'll fall and _nothing_ will help you up. How will you tell if you still retain your goodness? How will you know, you or them, is truly, honestly _good_?"

"How should _I_ know? I'm not some omnipotent power like a god, hell I'm not even _old_. What am I to judge what's good or not? Does it matter as long as I know what's _wrong_? And even if I can't tell the difference, even if I do, as you say, _lash out_,isn't that what _you're_ here for?" the Hylian demanded, and the two glared at each other for what seemed like a long, long time.

Then Not-Sheik smiled. "Well, I couldn't ask for better, I guess."

Link was honestly surprised at the sudden mood change. "That's it?"

"Oh, you know, Heroes. They get so confused when they get the _goodness_ question. Evil, phewey, cut it down, right? But they wouldn't know when to cut down goodness, and sometimes… good needs to have its ego put down a few notches."

"…Huh?"

She chuckled and hugged his neck and kissed him, her lips against his invoking that night so fully that he could've sworn he was reliving the moment. Link gaped at her for the sudden gesture, and blushed heatedly as she eyed him. "Good can't exist without evil to differentiate it. Good can be done through evil means, just as the opposite is possible. Good is not singular. Good is not superior. It is an equal. It is a balance. And I am the balance."

Link snorted, trying to calm the hammer of his heart. "Don't you have a massive ego too?"

"Hey, I'm allowed to," she chuckled, poking her tongue out, "I _am_ the Master Sword, you know."

…,…,…

And then he pulled it out.

It was like an invisible teacher was guiding his whole body, nudging his elbow because it was sticking out too wide, his hands because his grip was wrong again, his footing because his centre of gravity was at the wrong place. Suddenly everything was _smooth_ as Link spun, stepped, and _hacked_ at the final fleshy bird.

Its dismembered head fell and bounced twice before puffing into non-existence. Its massive body followed a second after.

His whole face lit up with awe. "Oh this is _cool_."

Then he stumbled, his voice choked as the pain in his torn shoulder leeched his strength like a vicious parasite. Link dropped the Master Sword and clapped his hand near his wound, making the appendage heal, to scab over and stop bleeding. Once done, the others gaped at him as he picked up his new partner, playing with the reflections that danced on its razor sharp surface, marvelling at the detail in the hilt.

It took a while for Link to realise that he was the only one that was fairly okay about it. Some were gawping at him, disbelief written all over their faces. Some looked angry, cheated, almost; the rest were kneeling at his feet with varying degrees of enthusiasm.

"Oh you've got to be kidding," the young man gritted out, wincing as he gently rolled his injured shoulder. "Is this what I have to deal with from now on because of you? Goddesses. I almost liked it better when they're treating me like a bastard. Or a lunatic, now that I'm… talking to a damn sword." The blond gave a self-deprecating sigh before eyeing his new weapon doubtfully. "You come with a sheath or what?"

There was movement at the corner of his eye and Link spun. At the foot of the altar there was a deep royal blue sheath, gilded in patterns of leaves and feathers, and there was a baldric to clip it neatly across his back. Link sighed. Happy though he was, he couldn't help but despair over the new treatment...

Oh, screw despair. It just tired him out.

"I think the Master Sword is the least of our worries now," he grunted as he picked the sheath up to put away his new weapon, "Some of us are dead. Rusl, where's Rusl?"

"I'm here, boy."

The young man began to walk up to him, as Rusl helped another injured man onto his feet. He was bleeding badly from the thigh. The medic quickly pulled himself out of hiding to treat everyone.

Something was wrong. His footsteps felt too heavy, too slow, like he was stuck in water, the ground as malleable as slime. Link's companions gaped at him, and Link didn't quite know why till he looked up.

Black flickered in the sky, forming a vague square that had red lights swirling on it like a whirlpool, then the light was caving in, caving _through_ it to form a spiralling tunnel that led to goddesses knew where.

Link's heart was shot with fear; he tried running, he reached for Rusl, he even got his name out before he saw his fingertips fragment, breaking into pieces like ash and fly up, followed by his hand, wrist, arm, and then his own vision blurred and faded to black.

Link ceased to exist in the Sacred Meadow.

…,…,…

"_Ow_!"

Link staggered onto his side, coughing. It felt like he'd been turned inside out, broken to pieces by a hammer and then got stitched together outside in by hot glue and a nasty, spiked brush. His knee hurt from crashing onto it; he was going to have one hell of a bruise...

"_Hm_?"

The voice sent shivers up and down the very core of his spine. Link looked around for the first time, the dark walls, the moonlight bars and patterns that reminded him of the Shadowbeasts, monolithic stone hands that seemed ready to leap off from the walls and grab him if he so much as thought of causing 'undue distress'.

The voice spoke again, and Link was washed with nausea.

"_You're not of the Blood, yet you hold the Sol fragment. How... note worthy._"

Link looked up, and wished he hadn't. There was a throne of dark stone and moonlight bars that glinted green and blue and all shades in between. On it sat something that seemed Hylian but wasn't; there was no noticeable ears or a nose, too cumbersome were they on a head so smooth and pale that it reminded Link of a waxen ghost. The eyes glinted yellow without whites or pupil, and the smile was both soft and sharp, like a dagger sheathed in velvet.

He was covered in billowing robes, all like cloth of liquid or onyx, laced in gossamer detailing with razor-sharp colours of starlight.

"_I am Zant, Ruler of the Realm Between_." The creature spoke as it stood, too fluidly like a snake. "_You are?_"

The Hylian swallowed down whatever panic he was tempted to succumb to and replied, "Link. Current Wielder of the Master Sword."

"_So I see_." Zant cocked his head to the side and smiled. "_Welcome to the Twili Court_."

* * *

_Once upon a time, when fairies were still but a figment of a dream and they kept themselves well away from the mortal world, a Stranger came to their court, and their Princess treated the Stranger most kindly and generously._

_The Stranger it seemed, had been wronged; a precious artefact was stolen from his coffers, and was searching through dimensions for the thief. The Princess took pity and personally guided him through their land of starlight and moonshine and jewel-mist. There was no thief, but the eternal splendour of the land enthralled the Stranger into forgetting the thief and thinking that this land should be governed under his rule._

_The Stranger plunged a sword into the Fairy Queen's back. She died with a scream that all the others heard, and the Stranger was driven away, with life barely intact._

_The Fairies gathered in their Pixie ring to mourn their queen, and to plan their revenge. It was decided that the one who could devise the most proper justice would earn the right as King._

_Two candidates were nominated, and they presented themselves to the Pixie Circle, and they forwarded their schemes of retribution._

_One was forwarded the plan to invade the Stranger's homeland, level the place to the ground, and make an example of the Stranger to those who dared invade their land again._

_There were murmurs of assent, and the Second came forward._

_He claimed that they did not have that power, nor the resources, to do such a thing. And to level an innocent land would be folly; thus he forwarded the plan of proper, bitter revenge. The Stranger had killed one of them, and so he must be killed. But let him be killed by his own blood, by the very magic he stole from this land._

_When the time was right, let the Fairy Magic burn bright in the Stranger, and kill him from within. _

_The Fairy Candidate was received with applause, and so he became King, and the Weapon of Choice was forged. _

But this is, as they say, all in the past...

* * *

**DUN, DUN, DUUUUUUUUUUUUUN.**

**That's a hell of a lot of action and stuff going on at the same time, don't you think? And the fairytales are no longer fragments! You get the bigger picture in bigger pieces from now on, hurray!**

**So yeah. If you guys work out the connections between Link and Sheik's past, you guys deserve cookies and cake. And icecream, SOOOO much icecream. XD**

**And review replies!**

_**Sparty the Bold**_**: There are WAAAAAAY too many reviews to reply to, but one point you said really stood out for me, so here it is. Th fairy tales are mildly important. The ones that are cut in half and written at the top and bottom of the chapters are the ones Sheik wrote about the kids, to basically commemorate their entrance into her life. That's how important the book is to her. The stories that were just cut in half at the early chapters were supposed to be pasted together byt the halves I post in the later chapters, but I deicded to stuff that and put the whole fairytales into the end of the chapters, like this one, in its whole form. It'll be easier to string together their importance that way. Thanks for your honesty; it helpw tih my fic-writing. **

_**DragonXander**_**: Thanks for your review! I hope you got to read the rest of the story and got to enjoy this one too. And don't worry about the kids' names, they're not THAT important. They were just there as a driving force for the plot, and a silly connection to the Seven Dwarves. Yes, I know, they're only six kids, but if you include Link there's seven. The Fairy and the Seven Familiars. **

_**darkwolflink1**_**: hehehe, don't worry, it's not cut off, because here it is! The Idea of Masked Dreams got stronger than this so it was just on break. Thank you for liking this so much, I hope you review again! **

_**TamaskavLEM**_**: Thank you for the numerous reviews! I wish I could've replied to them all, but there is SO not enough space and time on this thing. Thanks again, and I hope you get to read and review this again!**

_**CatsgotTongue**_**: And I have finally updated once more, lol. I hope you haven't given up on me, because I so enjoy your reviews! Thanks again for your support and if you ever get round to reading this again I'll be waiting to see what you think!**

_**roxxihearts**_**: Thanks! Glad you love it! And wow, I never thought of Sheik that way, the whole looking like Elphaba from Wicked. That is an awesome book, huh. Anyway, though it was unintentional effect I think it suits Sheik's character well. And nobody would really want to look at her eyes, so yeah, it suits her well. Lol, my silly writing skills and their silly little quirks that i force to make them work with... ;)**

_**HumanRiot**_**: Thank you! Writing this chapter was a hell of a lot easier because there was action, and emotional anguish that I got plenty of practice from with Masked Dreams, and other such things. XD I hope you enjoyed this chapter, because writing it was much fun. **

_**simply anonymous**_**: Indeed there is! But that is a story for another update... (0.0) And yeah, Sheik's a liar. She just anted to kiss him, lol. And Shad's kinda mean because he's jealous of Link, and Sheik's existence worries his sense of logic. :P But he's got nothing to worry about, silly boy...  
Oh, and Sheik may or may not break Link's heart. How do my other stories go?**

_**AlteaAuroraRia: **_**I know! XD Woooo! Ain't it awesome? And more love is on the way! After the action.**

**_Me_: Glad you think so! The story's about to get all its loose ends tied, so I hope you get to read the rest of the story!**


	14. The Cats in Boots

****

**Holy COOOOOOOOW it has been a very long time since I updated this! Woot! At least it's nearly done!**

**Sorry if the chapter seems rushed to you, because it kinda is. I blame it on not working on this fic for a long time; I'm out of practice.**

**Review replies at the bottom! enjoy!**

* * *

**_Cats in Boots_**

Link took a deep breath and forced his heart to stop beating so fast. He stood on shaking legs, licking his lips as he raised his weapon. "Twili Court…?"

He looked around at the large half-dark room (he guessed it was the throne room of the Twili Court), where at the edges people like Zant were staring at him, standing in what looked like navy smog that curled to their waists, wearing less cloth and more magic patterns of swirling lights. Like animals, creatures with no need for such earthly possessions. Masses of black slinked between their legs like sly cats, legs like tentacles, eyes like marbles.

It reminded him how he'd gotten there. The portals the Shadowbeasts used.

Link raised his weapon at Zant and growled. "Why did you bring me here?"

Zant, of all things, _tittered_. Link gritted his teeth against the shiver that rattled his ribs.

"_I did not intend to bring _you_ here if you are not of the Blood._"

"What do you mean not of the-!" too late he noticed the black tentacle creatures coming for him; the first one rammed into his gut and floored him while the other two took his sword away. He gave a strangled cry as the smog that'd surrounded the room came at him like a cloud of locusts.

The smog tasted like blood as he gasped and was forced to _change._ It hurt like the first time, in his room, frightened and confused as Sheik pointed a bandaged finger at him. As the fur burst across his skin, as his senses peaked and dimmed at once, Link rolled onto his fours and roared at the court, rage pumping through his blood as the strange people backed away looking horrified.

He snapped his gaze at Zant and the wolf _growled_.

And the humanoid creature had the nerve to laugh. "_Interesting! Fascinating! Not of the Blood yet influenced by it!_"

"What Blood?" Link growled, stalking menacingly closer. Whatever power this creature's voice had over him as a Hylian it was gone; he could freely converse without the urge to retch.

"_The Blood of the Twili. My people. My WORLD_._ The Court is dismissed!_" he barked at the surrounding Twili, and the subjects obediently shuffled away, murmuring amongst itself. From behind them the Shadowbeasts loomed forward, their heads less like stone tablets and more smooth metal shields, a single rune carved into the centre of the plates in black.

Link's hackles rose; if they came any closer…

"_You have had dealings with the shikigham_, _I suppose?_"

Link glared suspiciously at the thing that lounged on its throne. "Shiki…?"

"_Denizens of protection; birthed by the sigil carved on their sorry excuse for a head._" Zant stood and grinned, making Link back cautiously away. His animal instincts told him he was dangerous; if he'd been Hylian, it would've been damned obvious that Zant was insane. "_Perfect slaves of self-sacrifice. Our Guest learnt how to create them, but perhaps not as sturdily; she cannot find metal in her land such as ours._"

"I ask just once more." Link spat, showing his teeth, "Why am I here?"

"_For that_…" the grin widened reverently with dementia. "_You must know of our past._"

…,…,…

It was a slaughter.

Sheik swung her staff tipped with sharp magic, and it cleanly sliced through another creature that looked like a goblin from one of her mothers' stories. It gave a shriek and burst into clumps of damp ash. She cut down another, crouched down into the sand and sent it into the eyes of surrounding goblins before hacking them down as well.

It was quiet in that hallway. She listened, before judging it to be safe and carrying on with her journey through the monolithic prison.

She opened a door with the Queen's insignia blazoned onto it, and entered a courtyard open to the sky, half-shrivelled trees dotting it. Sheik cocked an eyebrow.

A garden… in a prison hall.

Rolling her eye she carried on, noticing the howls that came before the inevitable attack. Gritting her teeth she kicked off the ground and flew, swinging into a branch of a tree and influencing it. The branches bulged and twisted and flayed, circling her and hiding her in a sphere of wood and bark. Sweat dripped off her nose as her hand trembled against her tree. She waited. Waited till the enemy had completely surrounded her with snarling faces, waited till they were hacking at her cage, waited till they were all close enough, before letting go.

The branches snapped outward and blasted them all away. Those that didn't die on impact were incapacitated enough for her to simply walk by them before cutting their throats.

Her knees were beginning to shake. She was using too much magic, and by the gods she was thirsty under the hot desert sun. If there was a garden, there had to be a creek, a well, something with water. Swallowing air with her parched throat, she began to wander round the just as parched garden.

She saw something, and froze.

…,…,…

"_They say our ancestors overstepped the line of balance and brutality, but in MY mind… they were merely testing the waters, finding the true potential of our power, but your people, the HYLIANS, they FEARED us._"

Zant hunched in on himself as his tone grew darker, his face scrunching like silk in a fist,"_The people of our tribe… a tribe that mastered the art of magic, were locked away in this world like insects in a cage. In the shadows we regressed, so much so that we knew no anger nor hatred… nor even the faintest bloom of desire. And all of it was the fault of a useless royal family that had resigned itself to this miserable existence!_"

He screamed and stamped his feet like a child. Then turned, returning back to his throne. "_And then, THEN, one of you came to us, the Wench, the Witch, who opened the door between dimensions! And our Queen, her name was Midna… she saw not an opportunity for an invasion, but RECONCILIATION._"

"How does it connect with _me_?" Link snapped, frustrated at the so-called King.

"_You are somehow influenced by the Blood. The Blood of our QUEEN!_" Zant launched himself at Link shrieking like a banshee. He stopped short, their faces so close their noses were almost touching, and Zant had his arms out wide like a ghost, his eyes also wide, too wide in such a face so small and pale.

"_Our QUEEN!_" the shriek sent spittle into Link's eyes as the creature flew into a deranged rant. "_The wench from your world drank and bathed in the LIFE BLOOD of Midna and turned it into her OWN! The power of the Twili of half-light in the filthy hands of a MORTAL!_"

Wait. Wait. He only knew one other person who used that term…

Link shook his head and opened his eyes, blinking away the spittle to see the denizen of the half-light standing with his spine bent back so hard that he was facing the ceiling. The wolf was beginning to feel completely disturbed.

"_But of course, we searched for ways of revenge. We sent in spies, oh yes, lots and lots of SPIES. You creatures call them fairies, hahaha, such innocent little FOOLS! Our magic is diminished there, but we gathered enough information and we devised a PLAN!" _

Zant spun like a top and stopped. He pranced on his toes and did a little jig even as the hairs stood on Link's body. "_A plan of beautiful irony, a plan of extraordinary JUSTICE. That woman thought she was safe from us, but no, no, no, no, no…_"

The 'no's continued in a little song and Zant chuckled to himself. Link was all the more confused, because if this had to do with 'The Blood' and if he'd been influenced by it…

That narrowed it down to one person.

…,…,…

She tried to ignore what she'd seen in the Garden. She looked to the side and avoided it but the image had been burnt to her brain. That thing couldn't be there. It couldn't. It was supposed to be a mark of home, of safety. When it withered, it meant they were in danger, and had to leave. When they found it again, it meant they could stay there without being disturbed. At least, till it wither again.

So why was her Black and White Tree… _here_?

And there was fruit. So much fruit. She'd never seen fruit on it all her years, for as long as she could remember.

She'd tried walking past it. But it reminded her of home, of her mothers far too much. Painfully she looked at it, painfully she walked towards it. There was a stone tablet in front of it, lying in its own crumbling dust, its first engravings made illegible by time. But there was a new carving there, made by clumsy hands, perhaps multiple clumsy hands. There were stains round it that made Sheik's throat tight. Patting dust and sand out of the words, she read:

YOUR SONG STARTS HERE.

It could be just some nonsensical message to some bizarre hallucination. But next to it was another marking, preciously small, a star made of three lines, the one she'd made to represent her mothers.

Sheik remembered the church where they'd found Zelda, the Heroes kneeling before the Master Sword. She parted trembling lips to take a breath and sing the song her mothers had made just for her…

"_Soaring Birds, Gilded Swords,_

_Weave the Song of Hero's Trail_…"

She looked up and around, at the garden, the towers, the ashes that'd once been monsters.

"_Here's thy own, Secret Words,_

_Once Upon a Fairytale…_"

She stood up, looking around as she sang,

"_Queens speak spells of Beauty born,_

_Towers mighty pierce the morn…_"

She flew towards the towers, the most eastern ones catching her eyes, could the song mean the tallest? She entered the tower further east, got no results, and then to the tallest. There was a window where there should be no room. She entered it, and her heart lurched.

A room, a child's room. Lavish and impoverished at once, the bed large, the walls bare rock painted with dancing bears and girls and birds circled the room in one faint line. There was a basin and a jar, three chairs, and nothing else. Not even a door to lead out of the room; just the window she'd invaded from.

"_Man and Beasts play hand in hand,_

_While Fay reshape the land…_"

There were clues missing, there had to be. The part about the Queen and Beauty and the Fay made no sense, what on earth…?

It was almost like her mouth was detached from her brain, taking refuge in the familiar song, murmuring away to let her think about the details later.

"_Books unwoven speak the Truth,_

_Trailing crumbs to the Home of Youth,_

_Guilty Treasure there unfold_

_A Story Falsely Told…_"

Her hands were shaking as she gazed at her Book. It'd brought her here, just like the song said it would. She crouched on the dusty floor, flipping the pages to the back, the further back she flipped the older the stories became. To the ones her mothers had written for her.

She shrieked when one of the pages tore itself from the spine; gasped when she saw writing where the page had been hidden in the bindings. It was only part of a sentence; hating herself, and dreading what would be revealed, she picked away at the already weak strings, terrified, horrified, to think that this code, this message had been right under her nose for all these years…

-fore we tell-you know that-we love you-we love you-we all love you-and we are-so very sorry-that you had to find-that-you-are…

She stopped. Read it again. No. It made no sense. No sense at all. She had to pick it apart from the start, or else none of it would make a bit of sense.

It was like forcing a needle into her heart with each and every word and slowly turning it into a mockery of a porcupine, each tip dripping with hurt. If they'd cared enough to do all this… why had they left her…?

She sang a verse again, stopping at the words: "Guilty Treasure."

She lifted herself up and out of the Tower and back to her tree, looking for a patch of earth that looked disturbed. But it all looked the same, so Sheik slammed her palm against the ground and felt around with her magic, noticing a bundle buried not so deep in the ground, forcing the dirt to part so she could reach its decaying form.

Within the cloth was more cloth, a letter written in ink. She read it, twice.

Shakily she stood. Her shoulders shook as tears splashed silently down her cheeks. She wanted to be held, wanted to be told that it was all going to be fine. She felt so small, so alone, and all her comfort was in that song, but even as she sang to stave back the loneliness the hurt just swelled bigger and bigger.

"_Winter strands, Crimson gaze,_

_Sleep my dear in flowery veil,_

_In the night, Dream a maze_

_Weaving through your Fairytale._

_In the Dawn, Someone wakes…_

_No longer a Fairytale._"

She forced the urge to scream back as she heard footsteps behind her. She calmed her breath, gripped her staff, and drew strength from her birth-tree before turning.

…,…,…

Zant turned on Link and marched towards him, eyes burning like cold, cold stars. "_I decided we would mark her child, turn it against her, instil it with Midna's power, guide it on a path to kill Her! Not only that, we restored one of your fabled weapons to be used by the child, to double the poetic irony; killed by the child birthed by our blood, marked a villain by the blade of her home. And yet AND YET!_"

Swords burst from Zant's sleeves and he swiped. Link dodged, completely and utterly ready for it. He dodged and dodged again as Zant raged on like a strangled cucco, giving him all the info he wanted.

"_Stolen Blood will Birth more Blood, the Blood will act and Boil through Blood, Magic Binds shall tear Blood Bonds, Sullied Blood will turn and BURN! That was how it was supposed to be, yet somehow when the Blood was called for YOU came to be, YOU have the Sword! A filthy Hylian descended from the very beings that trapped me here! My plan was flawless! The flawlessness of my plan was what gave me this THRONE!_"

Zant froze and it was almost like he'd been struck by something all-powerful, turned to a statue. But he narrowed his eyes and hissed like poisonous steam,

"_I command you to tell me of the Child. The Child that influenced you, the one of Twilit Birthed. Tell me the name so it may be summoned._"

Link barred his teeth. "Hell No."

And they clashed. Zant was terrible at fighting. All he did was swing his swords; there was no artistry or skill to it as he screamed like a strangled animal and hacked at the space in front of him. Link hoped he hadn't been as unwieldy with his own weapon or he'd be a crying shame. Not to mention he'd never be able to wield the Master Sword with confidence ever again.

Speaking of the Master Sword… where _was _it?

Link leapt back from Zant's awkward flurry of attacks and ran round the court, and found the tentacle creatures hugging the hilt of the legendary weapon not very tightly at all; when they drew near it, it seemed as if the light it emitted was singeing their skin. Snarling with outrage (how _dare_ they do that to the _Master Sword_ of all things existing!) Link snapped his jaws round their rubbery skin and tore them apart.

He touched the blade and the light in it purged the influence of Twilight; it hurt even worse than being changed _into_ a beast, but it felt wonderful to hold the holy blade in his hands, to stand on his two feet, and show the crazed so-called king what _true_ swordsmanship was like.

It wasn't that hard; the king came at him spinning like a top; Link simply swung diagonally up, jarring through his path and tipping the king's balance. He stepped forward, slashed, dipped his body down, hacked up, swung down and around, tearing through cloth and armour. He ripped a blade from one hand and sheared the other one in half. Kicking down the crazed king Link levelled the point of his sword at his face and snarled,

"You're going to leave her-"

_ZAP!_

Link bellowed with pain as his knees gave way and slammed him onto the ground. His side ached where the floor came into contact; his head rang with the aftereffects of magic.

What…?

"You followed me here!"

He coughed, struggling onto his fours. There were no footsteps to warn him of the staff that swung violently into his midriff; breath knocked out of him he was sent rolling, sprawling on the floor.

He knew that voice. He'd know it anywhere.

Coughing to get air back into his lungs, recovering slowly from the initial magical attack, Link looked up and there she was; white hair, black lips twisted in rage. Her mismatched eyes were streaming power the colour of topazes and quartz, hiding all redness in its glow.

"Sheik…?"

"I don't know how you survived that trap, and I don't even _want_ to know. You wish so much for my head? Then you shall have to _earn_ it!"

"Sheik wai-!"

Link rolled away as she pivoted and rammed her foot where his shoulder had been, and he could _feel_ the heat coming from her. Completely confused Link kept rolling till he was a safe distance away, cursing as he stood. "Sheik what are you _doing_?"

"You know _exactly_ what I'm doing_,_" she snapped, barring her teeth. "Finishing what _you_ began!"

"What!"

Suddenly she was holding a ridiculously large _axe_ with the head decorated by gleaming red orbs, and he parried it as fast as he could, desperation saving him from being decapitated. Their weapons grated against one another, when hers wasn't supposed to be made of metal or stone; steam was hissing between their blades as the globes winked like jewels.

He jerked his hold against her and made her slip, clanging her axe deeply into the dark floor. Gasping he backpedalled, his heart racing as he demanded, "What the hell is going _on_?"

"You clearly have less of a grip on memory than a worm." She spat, wrenching her axe from the ground. "Because as a trick, this walks smoothly as a lame donkey."

"Sheik this is making no sense! We haven't seen each other for five or seven-gah!"

Everything about his body ached now; his vision swam. His jaw was ringing. It took him a while to realise that the large clawed paws digging into his shoulder blade and lower ribs belonged to the Shadowbeasts, that they'd slammed him against the ground.

What did register was the rage that flashed in Sheik's eyes as she saw the beasts holding him, and then suspicion as Zant told them to hold Link in place as he approached Sheik. And she was letting it happen.

"_You… you are of the Blood. You are Midna's remains._"

Sheik didn't shiver at his voice like Link did. She cocked her head to the side by a small, calculating angle. "Remains?"

"_The Magic stolen from her by your mother, lives within you now. You were destined-_"

"Don't you dare talk to me about destiny."

Sheik's seething tone quieted even Zant's crazed, reverent murmur. Clear as day Zant's unearthly glowed dimmed momentarily, like someone becoming a little faint.

Link gritted his teeth at the growing discomfort against his back before strangling out, "Sheik…"

She ignored him. "I am here for my own reasons; it just so happens we want the same thing. You can transport me, can you not?"

Zant nodded, smiling jaggedly. "_Through both space and time._"

She blinked, and turned away. If she hadn't done so Link would've seen the look of horror and understanding on her face that melted into a tremulous smile of ironic humour. "Can time so easily be warped?"

"_To us, it is as easy as bending a finger._"

She snorted before making her axe disappear. The red globes stayed, however, and were tucked into her ragged coat. "You know where I wish to go, Lord King."

"_I wish you luck._"

Link struggled and shouted but it was too late; the sight of her disintegrating into black pieces, shooting up into the portals of the Shadowbeasts was an inevitable reality, and it made him sick. In a flurry of her self-centred actions she'd left him completely and utterly confused.

Link beat a fist against the floor and cursed. "No, damn it _no_!"

"_I have no use of you now. You shall be returned._"

"Where the hell is Sheik!"

"_Facing her destiny_."

"Don't think this is over because I-!"

He saw the world fragment and dissolve in blackness. But he stubbornly kept his eyes open, and he was falling, and when the scenery was how he remembered it he saw _himself_, hand outstretched, helpless, useless, abducted right under the nose of every one there.

Then gravity held him tight and threw him down.

He crouched and rolled on impact with the ground, crying out when ground-shock still ricocheted up and down his legs. The others looked just as confused as he did; he retched into the grass, the aches and pains of abuse in the Twilight World making themselves known more fully.

Then he lost consciousness.

…,…,…

When Link woke up it was the grey of pre-dawn, a mass of aches and pains, and a fairy was sitting on his chest.

He closed his eyes and sighed. This was too much, everything happening all at once. The Master Sword choosing him, the Twilight Realm, Sheik…

His stomach churned. Why had she attacked him out of the blue?

He sat, making the ball of light on his chest squeak. "Hey!"

Link winced. His arms creaked as he moved. "You sound familiar."

"I'm Navi. Hi again."

The Hylian frowned as he leaned his elbows onto his crossed legs. Navi fluttered in and out of sight as he winced against tire, still lingering in his eyes. "Sheik's not here. I don't know where she is."

"I'm here for you, you know. Order of Zant."

He really looked at her this time, cocking an eyebrow. "Eh?"

"Considering you have the Master Sword, he wanted you to help Sheik defeat the Queen."

Link batted his eyes, and then the niggling feeling from the night before surfaced, and the dawning of the horror as the insinuations made connections.

"But… but you said yesterday that… her mother's _dead_, she's…"

She'd never said that, a voice in his mind pointed out, she said she had three mothers, and not that one of them was her birth mother. She never said what happened to her _real_ mother, if she ever knew her.

No… no…

"Link?"

Link jumped as Rusl gently pulled the flap of his tent aside to talk to the blond young man. He was holding a piece of paper, and was looking extremely grave. "How are you feeling?"

Link nodded dazedly before shaking his head. "I'm… I'm fine. Uh…" looking around, Navi was no longer in sight.

"We're still at the Temple of Time; you've been sleeping for half a day. There's something you need to see."

"What is it?"

Rusl gave Link the paper, let him look at it, let the look of confusion cross his face and interrupted him before he even spoke; "That's Veran's portrait."

Link froze. Inside the horror was getting heavier with certainty. "It can't be."

"It was painted a month before you came here, Link."

The portrait dropped from his hands, and Link pressed his face against his palms. "Can I… have a moment to myself, please?"

Rusl nodded before backing outside. Link took a few shuddering breaths, suppressing the humiliation, the pain, and the betrayal before calling for Navi. The blue light graciously answered, and Link dropped his hands from his face.

"What can you do for me?"

"I can carry you places, heal your wounds, little things to make it easier for you. But I can only do it three times; I'm not as powerful as Sheik boasts I am."

Link snorted at that before standing, looking for the Master Sword and his shield.

"I need you to take us back to camp, base, whatever it's called, but I want you to drop me off on the way. To where Sheik is now. We have long talk to do."

Two hours later they were ready to go. The expedition disappeared in a flash of blue light, and the Temple of Time was once again a world within a world, to be untouched by none than the destined.

The Queen's portrait that could be mistaken for Sheik's, drifted away in the breeze.

* * *

_In this land, many years ago, was once an Imp who had a brilliant mind, but could not share her ideas for falling ill and losing her voice. Her Sisters despaired, but diligently healed her though they suspected that her throat would never work._

_But one year, the Imp managed a croak and inadvertently summoned a frog. In secret the frog taught her his language and she spoke the tongue of Leatherskins._

_After two months of croaking the Imp found that she still could not communicate her ideas with her Sisters, and feeling lonely and tearful, slept in the day and walked at night. She cleared her throat and imitated the barking and howling of the dogs and wolves against the moon, and inadvertently summoned a hound. There she learnt the tongue of Furskins._

_After three months of croaking and howling, the Imp saw hope and for three days imitated the songs of birds, and inadvertently summoned a dove. It taught her the tongue of Featherskins, and the Imp was delighted. Months she croaked, hissed, barked, howled, chirped and trilled, but spoke not a word of her birth-tongue._

_A hunter heard her practicing her animal speeches in the night, and fearing that he was being chased by a demon, notched an arrow to his bow and shot into the bushes. He was met with a scream and a deadly silence; even more terrified, he ran from the spot. _

_The Imp, with an injured shoulder, crawled home to her horrified Sisters. _

_Her life was in no danger from the injury, but the sickness that'd made her lose her voice returned ten-fold, leaving her a shivering ball of fire, and her Sisters could do nothing to ease it. Days they tended to their little Imp who couldn't laugh because of the pain, couldn't move because of the tire. _

_But one night she spoke in her birth-tongue, saying that the Featherskins were warning her of how the Furskins were fighting men off, their rumbling feet first heard by the Leatherskins that'd taught her to speak their words. The Imp implored that their Sisters escape, before closing her eyes, fated to never remember her own words._

_The Sisters turned to each other and smeared dirt on their faces, tore their clothes and bore weapons to fight. They were captured that night by the Huntsman and his men, sure that they'd caught their Demon. _

_The Sisters mourned how their Imp would wake up alone. _

_...;...;..._

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**Dun, dun, duuuuuuuuuuun! **

**So... who saw that coming? I'm pretty sure I see a few hands up in cyberspace... but then that could be my terrible eyesight. XD**

**I am so proud of my next chapter. I got deleted so i had to retype it and I'm not quite sure whether it's as good as last time's action wise, but I think I got Sheik's charatcer down better. **

**I am however worried that it won't make any sense. In fact, you might be confused in this chapter too, but hey. It'll all be explained in the next chapter. **

**Anyway, REVIEW REPLIES!**

**_Sparty the Bold_: You're right, Sparty, it was kind of long, so i made this slightly shorter, I hope it wasn't as tiring to read! XD And I am SO EXCITED for teh Skyward Sword game. SO excited. So I had to throw that reference in, I had to. And it screwed with Link's mind, so that was an extra bonus for me. And if you do get your predicton right, I WILL right an impromptu fic in your honour. You name what happens in it, it will happen. **

**_Me_: Thank you Me! I may have copped out a little on the discriptions in this chapter because I was in such a hurry to finish it, but i hope I still got it right!**

**_Darkwolf Link_: And I updated again! FINALLY! Oh you have no idea how ood it is to update again! Yeeeaaaaah... (-v-) Zant is a little more badass in this chapter, but not by much. He really disappointed me in TP. (T_T) Oh, speaking of exams, I got my results back, and I gotta say I'm quie happy with them, so thank you for your kind words!**

**_Ugolino_: It lived, it died, and now this fic has risen from the dead! I should be able to finish this by March or something so, please stick around!**

**_Teriyaki Chicken_: I know, I finally updated! XD And thanks so much, but the action's nothing compared to the stuff in chapter 15. Wait for it, kay? And as for why Midna didn't appear... you know why now.**

**_SPC808: _Heya! Thanks for coming along, new reader! Yeah, i was think that too, the whole referring to Linkas the HUnter too much, but I couldn't think of any other name, so i shame-facedly stuck to it. Ah, originality is so fleeting. :P Anyway, glad you think this was worht the read, and I hope you got to get through the rest!**

_**CatsGotTongue**_**: And another update! Hahaha, glad you enjoyed Masked Dreams. I hope this was worth another long wait WITHOUT other fics of mine to read, but there're are plenty of writers out there, right? Anyway, hope you enjoyed!**

**_Nyx the last Keybearer_: Here it is! Howatchaaa! (continues to kick butt and see if I miss or not... (-_-) )**

**_Secretly Awesome_: Secretly Awesome, you really are secretly awesome for going so far as to say my fic made your holiday. Your review made mine too. Among every other person's. So thanks again, and I hope you got to read this chapter too.**

**So yeah, reviews please?**

**Oh, and it's 3:28 AM right now. lol... (=.=)**


	15. The White Snow

**So yeeeah! The chapter that'll make sense of everything! Unless I did it completely and utterly wrong... Cuz I wrote this chapter, like, AGES ago. I think I finished writing this before I finished writing chapter 7. That was for how long I knew where this was going to end up. But obviously there had to be a few adjustments, but if I missed anything please tell me, kay? I'll fix it, no problem.**

**I felt a little sad that only two or three people reviewed this but hey, after a long pause I guess I deserve it. And some people may have left the sight because they're over fanfics or whatever, sure, it's all good. **

**Thank you so much to the people who reviewed! I hope I don't disappoint your loyalty!**

**Anyway, enjoy.**

**Also, tell me what you think about the action scene. I was quite proud of them. XD**

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_15 – The White Snow_

Navi's blue light deposited him into a place of scorching heat and bright sun, at an entrance to what looked like an oasis surrounded by desert and ruins. Link walked in, cutting through thorns and hard brush to the inner courtyard, where the lawn was lined with rings of brickworks, with patches of overgrown or dead plants that lazily shrivelled to brown-yellow-black, as if the white-barked, black-leafed apple tree standing arrogantly above everything else was usurping their life and beauty.

Before it stood a figure he recognized, and he swallowed his fear and pushed forward, deliberately swiping a lone branch with the Master Sword to get her attention.

Hair swinging, she turned. "Link," she said, "…Hi."

Link nodded. Now that he'd seen the portrait of the Queen, he could see the likeness between them. The gentle but confident lilt in her full lips, the sharpness of her eyes.

She looked tired, sad. She turned back to the deathly tree, her voice holding fondness as she spoke, "I've been lying to you, Link. Shamelessly. I _have_ been speaking some truths, but it's strange how coincidences work. This really was my birth tree."

She turned back to him, black lips mock-pouting, false innocence in her eyes, igniting fury in his heart. "But that's about it."

"You're no fairy."

Sheik's smile died. "...No."

"You're Veran's daughter."

She jolted, eyes wide, and her expression paled. "How, how did you...?"

"_Stop pretending_!" Link yelled, fire in his throat, in his stomach, his hands gripping the holy weapon so tight it burned. "I'm sick of it. I'm tired of it! Just tell me who you _are_!"

"..._You're_ tired?" her shock was turning into outrage; she hissed like a snake after an insolent rat, stalking menacingly towards him. "Do you know how many times I've wondered, questioned, my life? For what, I asked, many times over, for what must I have lost my mothers, my memories, my home, for _what_, I ask, and there lay the answer at my fingertips all along, my crime revealed to be the single, simple act of being _born_."

She spat in the grass, brandishing her staff. "Do not talk to me about _tiring_, my dear. You know nothing about it."

"Oh yeah?" he drawled, "Well, how about getting your world turned on its side, every, single, _day_? Running from war, mother dead, taken from home, turned into a wolf by a bloody _fairy_, learning to use magic, those _things_ attack us, then the teleport, Zelda, the resistance and this royalty business and _you_! _Again_! You and your stories, constantly rocking the boat, confusing the hell out of me, and goddesses know how many of them are actually true."

"Of course!" her laugh was cruel as she advanced on him, "The breaker of worlds, aren't I? At least I seem to have the power, and look: I'm gaining more each and every day."

She opened her palm, and her fingertips bloomed with flame. The flame turned black and orange and flared shapes of screaming faces, and green sparks of dragons and snakes haloed her deathly calm expression.

"Don't do this, whatever _this_ is," Link growled, raising the Master Sword in warning, as she marched closer, closer, whirling the staff in her hand. Anger was replaced by worry, and he realised that, even now, "I don't want to hurt you."

"Of course," she nodded, swinging back the staff like a bat, which burst with purple thorns, "But you know I never believe you."

_Whoosh_ the club went and Link ducked and hacked at the wooden thing as it came at him, shearing it in half but Sheik spun it and _stabbed _and Link dodged as the newly sharpened end drove him back and he didn't dare cut it again because she was so close and her hands were even closer and he feared the redness that would spill from her almost as much as the redness of her mismatched eye, glinting with malice.

He ducked and wrenched at the manacle pendant making his sight blur and stumble and he melted into a disoriented bundle that ran on his fours and swiftly avoided getting pinned to the ground by Sheik's stick.

He rounded, growling, blinking through his new perspective, and Sheik seemed to tower above him with her anger and her hurt, holding the sharp stick like a spear. He lunged and bit down, grabbing it in his teeth, wrestling and writhing in hopes of her letting it go.

Pain rammed into his gut in the form of her knee and he yelped and collapsed into the grass as she gasped and hastily stepped a few paces back, her expression livid.

She drove the stick into the ground and it glowed sunset hues that sparked outwards and tied the trees to make a shape that caged the wolf in and _snap_ went an energy so powerful that Link howled as it popped his sensitive ears, and through his pain he saw vaguely that the magic had solidified into a wall, a cage, flickering in and out of existence like tendrils of smoke or ink on water, undulating, twisting, _there_.

Link stumbled onto his legs, Sheik reaching behind her head and pulling on her hood, turning away. "Wait,"

Sheik paused. Link was back in his human form, panting, coughing, standing with difficulty. She seemed to consider before sneering. "No."

"Just tell me how long you've _known_!" Link yelled, as he staggered against the cage and it shot pain through his nerves. He cursed as he stumbled; Furore, when did he _learn_? "For how long have you known who you were? That talk about you getting chased by the Queen, the way you acted around my sister, the way you kept saying you were a _fairy_ and that I was some stupid _mortal_, were you just _laughing_ at me? All this time-"

"Shut_ up_!" she screeched, rounding on him and throwing darkness into his chest. He screamed as he fell, the pain clenching his heart and freezing it, not letting it beat for an eternity of a second. He gasped as his chest rattled, clawing at his shirt.

"You dare, you _dare _accuse me of this pretence from the moment we _met_?I knew nothing! I knew nothing of this curse, I knew _nothing_! I don't know how you knew, but I only worked it out myself, and I wish I could die, I wish _she_ would die! She was the reason that my mothers left me, they were being chased because of me and they were protecting me, and all I could do was be _angry_ at _nothing_! She was the reason I live such a half-life! And my familiars, she ruined their lives and... Oh gods... my familiars."

Link jolted at the tears that splashed her cheek. She hiccupped, wrenching an arm across her face, even as rage and anguish twisted her face into a demon's. "They'll leave me. Just as you have turned on me, they'll turn as well, and I'll have no-one. _No-one_! I thought I could trust you! I thought... I thought you were different from those _mortals_."

She glared at him, and guilt and pain and horror churned his gut as she turned away.

"Sheik, I'm sorry..."

"You only say that because you don't want to be killed." She spat, "And believe me, I'm close to it."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I panicked. I shouldn't have, I don't know, but, _damn it _Sheik, why did you attack me before? Sheik, please, let me out. We need to talk, properly."

She looked confused, but turned away. "Say what you will, but I won't set you free."

"Sheik, please!" was his desperate wail, "They're after you! You saw the camp, you know what they'll do to make this work, they're planning a damned storming on the castle and they think you'll get in the way-"

"So? It has nothing to do with me." She threw the hood over her head and stopped by the apple tree. She reached up on her toes and gently plucked a fruit from it, and it shone like a ruby dipped in blood, its sheen of brilliance irresistible to all that saw it. She was picking some black branches and adding more apples to her basket. He could imagine her lining them, could see them burn in his mind, like hot coals smouldering in black glass. Like that axe…

Fear rose in his gut and bit deep, something niggling at the back of his head. "Sheik, what… what are those for?"

"My mothers. It's time their misfortunes be paid for."

The supposed Hero, for one blissful second, had no idea what she was talking about. "But, aren't they poisonous?"

"I believe so, yes."

"Then what…?" That moment burst like a bubble and the shards drove through his spine and soul and his stress mounted and all he could do was stand there and watch her plan her revenge.

"_You aren't listening_! They're going to storm the castle, don't you get it if you go for the Queen _now_ you'll be dragged into the fight-"

"As you obviously can't tell, I'll spell it out for you." She turned and scowled at him, spitefully. "I, dee, oh, en, oh, tee, see, aye, are, ee. Work it out."

"You idiot!"

"I? Why, never." Her grin was wide and malicious, with no trace of her old humour. "But the Queen, oh, she _is_ an idiot. She should've killed me when I still couldn't walk, should've executed my mothers before they escaped, and I assure you, I will feel no remorse when I give her what she deserves."

"Murder isn't the answer. Not now, not yet."

"But it isn't murder, Link," she cooed with relish, "It's righteousness, it's reaping the rewords, it's _revenge_. But realistically, it's regicide."

"_Don't do this_!"

"Goodbye," she whispered, blowing him a kiss as the portal of Twilight opened and took her away.

And then the memory hit him, those words, those sad words, the horror he'd heard in her voice. _Can time so easily be warped...?_

_He'd _started this. If he hadn't reacted so badly to the portrait, if he hadn't accused her, then she would've have attacked him there wouldn't have been any confusion, and… none of this would've happened.

Link gave a strangled scream of frustration, kicking and punching the stick that was driven into the ground until the barrier broke when the staff snapped cleanly in two.

Every single cell in his body screamed, howling for Sheik, telling him to get to the castle first and apprehend her there, grab her and beg her not to go near that goddess forsaken place, and he would've run, he would've sprinted through the forest full tilt but he'd promised, he'd promised Zelda he'd return, but Sheik, Sheik, Sheik…

It literally hurt to turn away and rush through the trees for the Camp. He would get Epona. As soon as he was sure of Zelda's safety he would saddle the horse and he would drive her to the ground if need be, though the thought sickened him. He will get there before Sheik, stop her, fight her, whatever it took to keep her safe.

His heart drummed. Faster. _Faster_. Sheik, Sheik, Sheik…

…,…,…

Link burst into the tent, gasping, coughing, collapsed against the floor. The war leaders were conversing, pointing at a map of the castle. Well, they had been, but now they stared at Link, who staggered on his feet and gasped out, "Where's Zelda?"

"She's coming. Where is the _girl_?"

Sheik. Sheik. Sheik. "She's gone. To the castle."

Auru jumped to his feet, looking livid. "To warn Veran?"

"No!" Link snapped, "To _poison_ her! And if it weren't for you and your stupid prejudice she wouldn't-"

"Lord Prince," the man named Rusl hastily interrupted, "I don't pretend ta-"

"And I'm not a freaking _prince_!" the teenager yelled, "Would you get it through your _thick skulls_ that I am not _royalty_!"

"Link!"

The boy bit his tongue, so surprised was he. He turned, wincing, to meet his sister's glare. Her long hair was braided, and she was wearing a breastplate over the bodice of her skirt. There was a sword strapped to her side. Link's jaw dropped.

"_You're fighting_? Furore tell me you're not fighting in this. It has _nothing to do with us_!"

"You're wrong," she strode into the tent and stood close enough to jab him with her finger. "That forsaken _Queen_ ransacked my sanctuary exactly a day and three hours ago. She decimated the altar of Nayru while I was on duty. I _will not_ let her go for this."

"And who's going to be put on the throne once this is over?" Link spat at her, hands balled into fists, "You going to rule a country, an _empire_? Because that is exactly what they'll make you do, sis, if you so much as put one _crumb_ of aid to this revolt!"

"It's not a revolt. It's a revolution."

A shudder crawled up his spine. That was a nicer way of saying revenge.

"And I know that." Zelda's frame trembled with unshed tears. "But don't you see? I have to. Without me, without us, there's no real candidate for the throne. If I don't step up, there'll be another war after this and another after that, and maybe I could've lived with that if I hadn't known but I _know_, Link, and I can't let it happen."

"There's no _need _for a _candidate_! The Queen may be evil for all I care but there's no need for it to be you! There are so many other aristocrats you know _that_ too but you-"

"And they'll squabble amongst themselves! They'll exploit every little connection they have and they will ruin lives and cause wars and I can't let it happen! Mum would've-"

"If you even suggest that mum would've wanted this, _I will slap you Zelda_! She wouldn't have wanted you to fight, or to be in danger, or be anywhere near a battle-zone and this is exactly what it will be!" He grabbed her shoulders and shook her, pleadingly. "Don't do this. _Please_. Zelda, please, no."

"I _have _to-"

"You _don't_! There's, there's…"

Sheik's name, the true princess and heir to the throne, died on his tongue, because he couldn't shift the responsibility on her shoulders, even to protect his sister. He… he…

Link's rage exploded. "_FINE_! Be that way! But if you're so willing to throw your life away, you've got a race on your hands, _your Highness_."

He burst out of the tent, ignoring the pain in his muscles, from running, fighting, morphing and running again, whistling for Epona. The horse came with a shrieking whinny, and she didn't even have time to stop before he lunged and mounted her, kicking her in the direction of the Castle.

Zelda ran after him, briefly, before sighing and returning to her tent, worry lacing her moves. "Gentlemen," she announced, "Ready the soldiers; it seems we have an early battle on our hands."

"But your Highness-"

"If what my brother says is true, and that Sheik has headed for the castle to poison the Queen, we will have trouble on our hands whether she succeeds or fails. The guards will be assembled on their part. Others will make claims to the throne. And my brother is already out there. We have to use this opportunity _now_."

…,…,…

Sheik was disguised as an old crone and already within the castle when Link burst in on Zelda's tent. She'd used some magic, magic she realised she'd borrowed from the Twili since the day of her birth, since her right eye became like theirs. She opened a portal to the gates of castle-town, disguised herself, and told the young men guarding the castle doors that she had what the Queen wanted, giving them a full glance at her fairy eye.

Of course, they let her in without delay.

As Link and Zelda argued, Sheik waited for the Queen. Sheik rearranged her basket of apples a few times, wondering whether this would work, wondering whether this revenge was suitable enough for this evil, murderous, traitorous, sorry excuse of a creature.

She contemplated a knife-fight. A magic duel. A slow grin dragged her cheeks up.

As Link called for Epona, Sheik entered the ornate throne-room, bent over like an old woman, matted and tangled hair protruding from her hood. She held the basket aloft in hands callused and dusty enough to seem to belong to a person three times her age, and cackled manically as she reached the foot of her birth-mother's throne.

The blood of Midna coursing through her veins had left Veran almost as beautiful as the day she threw Sheik away. Her skin was still translucent with beauty, her eyes still bright with vanity and mockery. But crows feet threatened at the corners of her gorgeous eyes, and there were dents in her cheeks that weren't quite dimples. Time's embrace was threatening to be a stranglehold, and Veran was clearly livid about it.

"What is it I desire, Witch?" she purred, clicking long fingernails against the arm of her throne.

The witch cackled again, drawing out an apple with crooked fingers. "You desire a child, my Lady, a child with hair white as the snow, eyes fresh as blood, lips dark as coal. You desire her beauty, her youth, her years untouched by time. Here it is your majesty, in the flesh of these apples."

Veran sneered, despite the accuracy of her desire. "What does this fruit have to do with this child, Witch? Speak swiftly; your hanging depends on this."

Sheik snickered over her basket. Hanging? Like she'd give her the chance. "The child you desire has passed to the goddesses, my liege. _However_, when she was buried, she had a single pip in her grasp, which grew and flourished on her blood and bones, drew her beauty into its roots. I have proof, your majesty. These are its leaves and bark and flower, and more of the apples from its numerous branches. I beg your inspection, for these are as real as the air around you and the magic that permeates your whole being."

She placed the basket onto the floor and shuffled backwards. A regal Shadow Beast grasped it within its oddly shaped talons and gave it to the Queen. Her gaze was doubtful, at first. But looking at the contents of the basket the Queen's gaze grew hungry, her eager hands shaking over the branches and the plucked flowers, the impossible _redness_ of the apples.

Sheik wondered if the Queen remembered the baby's eyes. Sheik wondered if the Queen had felt any sorrow at all. Or remorse, for putting away her mothers to the Arbiter's grounds.

Her hands were shaking. Her muscles were tensing. She'd thought she could handle this woman's presence, but she'd been naïve, far too sure of herself; the anger was boiling up her throat like bile, and just poisoning her wasn't enough, not merely enough, she wanted to hear her scream, wanted to see her blood spill across the floor, wanted her to look her in the eye and _know_ what she was being killed for, what she was being punished for.

And what if those apples were meant for _her_? That tree had been protecting her for whole life. What if Sheik was supposed to eat them herself and gain enough power to defeat this Queen? For all she knew she was giving Veran her true wish; eternal beauty and power, and for _what_?

There was too much at risk here. Far too much.

"You did well, witch," was the hoarse whisper of the Queen, fluttering fingers lingering over each and every apple, "You shall be granted whatever you wish for, money, power, any sacrifices, all. Name it."

"Then perhaps a sacrifice, as you've kindly suggested."

"Are you in need of animals? Maidens, youths? Children?"

Sheik calmly slipped her arms up her sleeves, unclipping the knives strapped to her forearms. "Nay, your majesty. The life I wish for,"

She kicked and smashed through the thick air, slicing as she rocketed towards the shocked queen, throwing the cumbersome cloak away as she shrieked,"_Is yours_!"

A Shadowbeast got in the way but Sheik slashed it and it died with a bellow of pain, and drove the other knife forward into the throne but Veran had already dodged and scuttled away, a feral snarl twisting her face. Sheik met it with one of her own, and only Veran saw the semblance, as the teen had lived a life without mirrors.

The Queen hissed in outrage, her minions gathering around her. "You."

Sheik's laugh was manic. She stalked wild and merciless towards her birthmother, white teeth shining stark against her black lips. "Hello, my liege. I hear you've been searching for me. I've come. Now _fight me_."

The girl lunged, but got a face-full of Shadowbeast. She ducked and lashed out as it swiped, spilling glowing black gore onto the floor and allowing it to stumble and pierce itself on her upturned blade.

The Queen gave a wild shriek as the construct creature exploded into a cloud of inky smoke. "My magic should have detected your intent!"

"Meh, I'm powerful," the girl shrugged, pouring power into the blade of her knife, heating it, stretching it, sharpening it into a rapier. Steam rose from the metal as she held it aloft. "And I changed my mind at the last minute."

"_Detain her_!"

Sheik swiped the thin metal blade as another three Shadow beasts lurched forward, cutting one in the forearm and another in the abdomen. They roared and stumbled, allowing her to jump between their cumbersome forms. She hit one brutally on the shoulder and snapped her blade. She didn't care. That thin thing was too graceful for her type of fight.

Grinning, she shoved her hands into the Shadowbeast's excuse for a face and _changed _it. It bellowed in what sounded satisfyingly like agony as the stone melted and contorted, bubbling like boiled mud. Unable to help but laugh with dark triumph, Sheik grasped the side of its face and tore it off, letting it explode and die.

She poured her power into the tablet sliver and shaped into a nice, thick baton. She looked at the last injured two monsters and smirked.

Sheik swung the baton up and down, cracking it against the stone floor. The floor received her magic and forced the ground to spike under, up and right through the monsters like thorns through petals. Their death was instant and simultaneous.

She turned on the queen, tapping the baton against her shoulder. "You next, my queen."

Veran had leapt from her throne and was now edgily circling away, her eyes calculating as she watched her daughter. "You certainly are powerful..."

Sheik lunged forward with a feral snarl, swinging the stone stick like a bat. Veran slashed her arm and there was a violent _boom_ as an invisible wall threw Sheik back, lightning in her bones, fire in her throat. Sheik gave a strangled cry as she was thrown against the floor, head smacking against the stone. She wondered in the ringing pain whether this was how Link had felt every time she had thrown him back. Reap what you sow, indeed.

"But you cannot beat your mother, my child."

Sheik groggily swiped air, and air cleaved like a knife at the Queen. She did it again, twice and twice more, both moves faster and more powerful than the last, but the Monarch only raised a hand and all of Sheik's attacks dissipated. Sheik hissed as she rolled up onto her feet, barring her teeth. "You may have brought me to this world, but you were _never_ a mother to me."

"I am mother enough to know you cannot dream of winning against me."

"Dreams can become real." Sheik spat, shoving her hands against the ground and making it _split_. The whole place convulsed and bucked as great cracks sluiced into the stone floors and ceilings, bringing chunks of masonry crashing onto the floor, shattering the glass windows, raining sharp singing shards on boulders.

Sheik gasped as her heart lurched even as the Queen gave a cry of alarm. She knew what this was. She was using too much magic at once, just like last time, the one time she'd pushed herself to the brink...

And the children had been taken from her.

Sheik took a deep breath and looked for the Queen and squealed as water burst from a crack near her feet, gushing from a supply-pump for one of the castle fountains. She stumbled and that saved her; a weapon that looked like a spear sprouted in the rock near her and it burst into flame. Sheik gasped, shoved her hands into the water and blindly threw it where the spear had come from and ran.

There was an annoyed huff and the water turned to mist; more spears of fire raced towards her and Sheik ducked and weaved her way around the hall, crouching down, touching the water, lifting it up and spraying it round to hide her and weaken the fires if not fully quench them.

She gasped again as she tripped on a loose piece of castle and fell, skinning her hands and knees. Her strangled cry seemed to echo as she rolled and curled round her injuries. Her heart was thumping ridiculously fast, everything hurt, everything shook, and she was sweating, tiring, and _nothing was working_. The Queen seemed perfectly healthy; in fact she looked like she was having _fun_.

Sheik screamed when an arrow pierced her hand, pinning her to the spot. The Queen laughed.

Tears of frustration burnt her lashes as the girl tried to pry the thing from her hand; but her skinned palms wouldn't do as she told them to, and this wasn't fair, this wasn't what she'd come for, this wasn't how things were supposed to go...!

"I could train you, my dear," She cooed, and Sheik could _feel_ her coming closer even as she scrabbled to get up and fight her, "I could tell you so many secrets, teach you so many powers. My daughter, my Tetra..."

Something inside _snapped_.

The girl gave a shriek that made the arrow burst to violent life, ramming into the Queen with enough force to throw her back. It uprooted itself from the floor and her hand, the skin healing in an instant as Sheik stood, both eyes now flatly red, red, nothing but red and glowing, Midna's legacy boiling in her very soul.

The tree that was once an arrow shed a branch that became her staff, while the rest of it grew wild and insane, defying all laws of proportion and time as it fed on the quartz-and-topaz light that oozed from Sheik's hair. The shattered glass windows became its leaves. The shards of rock became its bark, and it grew a mouth and eyes and teeth and _roared_.

Sheik, swallowed by the Twilight Princess's power, didn't sound like herself anymore. "_That is one insult too far, mortal_._ I… Am… SHEIK._"

Veran cursed as darkness bloomed round her arms like stringed beads of onyx, and she flung them at the arrow-tree like a basket of snakes and they lashed out like whips, ripping the branches that assaulted her. Then she splashed more magic blackness at the floor and they slithered towards Sheik as fast as the plague, small numerous eyes bright like blue blood, moving on deft tentacles.

Sheik dealt with them with her staff, even as the wood withered at their very touch. She discarded her weapon as the final Shadow Vermin dissolved, the Queen still busy with her tree-monster.

Sheik touched a boulder and its surface bloomed twili symbols and launched itself at the Queen and the tree moved out of its lightning fast path. The monarch sneered and merely outstretched her hand; the boulder exploded into shards and shot everywhere, shredding the tree that was once her arrow.

Sheik tapped her arms and legs and symbols flashed over her skin and she ran through the flying splinters and weaved her way to the Queen and caught her by surprise because she was so close, close enough that she could punch the older woman _and that was exactly what she did_.

Sheik threw her fist straight into the witch's precious face and there was a _crunch_ as bones shattered and the queen was launched away by the girl's enhanced strength and sheer force of inertia. She fell as a pile of pretty dresses, and Sheik, dropping to her knees, placed her hands reverently onto the mutilated floor, sent symbols scrawling over every boulder half her size or bigger, and sent them flying straight into the queen.

The place shuddered again in response to the force of dozens of boulders zeroing in on one spot. Sheik watched dazedly as the light bled from her hair, as her eyes became mismatched once more and blood dripped from her nose and trailed her black lips, till the dust settled, nothing moved, and blood began to seep from under the rocks.

Then finally she dropped, sprawled into the rubble, finally letting the tears come as sweat drenched her body. If she had the strength she would've shouted her triumph but her throat hurt from magic and screaming; all she had enough strength was to quietly sob, trembling with anguish as she muttered over and over, "I did it... mothers, I did it, I did it, I-I... mothers..."

Then she heard something above her own sobbing. Dread made her look at the boulder she'd thrown. Fear froze her solid when she saw one of them move, just by a little. The fear turned to horror, and then to terror as she saw a hand that wasn't a hand struggle to move the boulder from where it was lodged, sending smaller ones above it to roll and crash onto the ground.

"_You dare_..."

The voice sounded Twili. Sheik scrabbled to get up, tears flooding her eyes and dripping down her face. This couldn't be happening. It couldn't.

"_You dare hurt me? My own blood dares defy me? ME?_"

Sheik tried to stand and failed. She hyperventilated, looking for a place to hide, a place to run to, but the child had nothing within reach to shield her from this nightmare, and angry tears burst from her eyes even as she closed them and screamed.

Her best was never enough. _Never_.

She looked again, and wished she hadn't. Instead of a queen something large and shiny emerged from under the rubble, the body-part tipped by a talon that looked wickedly sharp.

Something caught her eye. Sheik looked and there the apples were, knocked from their place near the throne, sprawled on the floor like the smoothest rubies.

They were close. Close enough to crawl to before the monster could get her. Sheik desperately forced herself to move, the adrenaline only adding to her panic. She looked at the monster, wished she hadn't again. A large eye glared at her, mad in all senses of the word, raging in bloodlust and insane with impatience to kill her as it struggled to free itself.

Sheik finally found her legs and leapt from the floor and ran, cutting her feet on glass and rock shards, squealing as she tripped again, rolling on tapestries but still hurting from the impact with the floor.

The apple gleamed at her. The creature that was no longer the Queen roared.

For the First time in her life, Sheik prayed. She prayed to see Link again, and her familiars, and for the apples to work for her, to save her.

Cradling the fruit in her hands, she took a bite.

The creature froze, and stared. Sheik chewed and swallowed, choking in her haste to eat that one fateful bite.

She breathed, slowly. Calm swept her features as she raised a hand against her chest, checking how her heart still beat, how she was still warm, alive. She stared at the thing that'd become the Queen, and she placed that same hand to the wall to help herself up, to fight the monarch again.

Then her hand slipped. She fell.

The calm never left her as she closed her eyes, the apple rolling from her limp hand, the apple still gleaming with false promises.

...,...,...

_Once upon a time there was a Queen whose vanity surpassed that of a hundred queens, for she was devastatingly beautiful. Many a Prince threw their lives away (or wives, if they were Kings) and fought over her hand. Once the final, bloody victory was won, and the Queen was wedded to the triumphant Lord, she poisoned him after Six weeks of marriage, bored of his woos and supposed love._

_She left the ruling of her now vast and war-ravaged empire to her deceased Husband's ministers, while her world narrowed down to her reflection._

_That is, until an invitation to a chancellor's newborn's celebration was cordially handed to the Queen. For the sake of relieving her boredom and curiosity, for she found that she was with child too, graced the halls of her inferiors with her presence._

_When the Vain Queen arrived, she was horrified to see the mother to be a woman of extraordinary beauty, and the baby-girl a mortal cherub, with eyes the exact shade of the divine heavens, hair as luscious as spun gold, her cheeks rosy as dawn._

_So mortified was she that the Vain Queen cut her finger on her ebony mourning brooch, splattering blood over her fine white lace. _

_There was a silence more powerful than death, for the Vain Queen was known for her temper. But the Queen smiled, raised her injured hand and announced to the whole hall:_

"_Hear me, my servants, for the Goddesses have sent me a vision! I am with Child, and mine Heir will be as white and delicate as this lace, red and divine as my blood, and black and beautiful as my ebony jewel."_

_The Queen was showered with applause, and she relished in her triumph. She was sure in her heart that the child in her womb would, no, __must__ surpass the chancellor's girl, and his beauty would win him the world thrice over._

_Her time with the Child was a smooth one. The servants saw to all her needs. The Best Midwife, the Best Nurse, and the Best Healer in all the land was summoned to attend to her when the baby was due._

_The baby came without a single cry; not understanding that this was abnormal amongst newborns, the Queen demanded to see her boy despite the protests of the Three Maidens. _

_The Queen gave a scream and nearly dropped the baby, for though it was everything the woman had asked for, it had all gone wrong._

_The Heir was not a boy but a girl. It was not her skin but her hair that was white and delicate as lace, it was not her hair but her lips that were black as ebony, and it was not her cheeks but her eyes that were red as her blood._

_The Child was indeed beautiful, but it was only a beautiful _monster_._

_The Fairies that'd caught her smug proclamation and made it true cackled at the Queen's anguished curses._

* * *

BAM! And the dirt is gone.

**If you get that joke you're awesome. **

**Anyway... so, to clarify a few things. **

**The fairytales were all from Sheik's book. They were off the traditional storylines because Din, Nayru and Furore rewrote them as such so it was like a biography for their little fairy girl. The ones that featured little kids were the ones that Sheik wrote to commemorate their entrance into her life. Guess which ones belong to which kid! XD **

**Um, the time line between Link and Sheik go something like this:**

**Link enters Sacred grove:::Sheik finds Arbiter's Grounds **

**Link finds Master Sword:::Sheik enters Arbiter's Grounds**

**Link goes to Twilight realm:::Sheik kills lots of monsters**

**Link gets pwned by time-travel Sheik::: Sheik goes looking for clues**

**Link wakes up from unconsciousness::: Sheik finds out who she is**

**Link confronts Sheik::: Sheik confronted by Link**

**Link gets owned again:::Sheik timetravels.**

**If that was ridiculously confusing in the writing, I hope that little... thing helped you out. I hope.**

**REVIEW REPLIES!**

_**Darkwolflink**_**: Okay, so here it is. God I hope it makes sense now. DX I was thinking of doing oneshots but I have no idea what to do... (T_T) but I have another multichapter in the works, though I have no idea whether it'll come out here or not. Got any ideas for a oneshot?**

**_Me_: The post is here! Hope you liked! And now that everything is revealed, what will happen NEXT?**

**Find out next time!**

**Please review... (QmQ)**


	16. The Wicked Witch

_**OOOOOOHHHHH MAAAAAAAIIIIIIII GAAAAAAAWWWWWD! I HaS My InTeRnEtS BaAaAaAaAaAaaaaaaaaAAAAACK!**_

_**Cue Victory Dance**_

**You see, my dear readers, I moved house. I moved house virtually right before christmas, and that wrought chaos onto my writing schedule. Before the move there was the cleaning, and before that the packing, and the throwing things away and sorting through stuff and god knows what else. Aaarrgh. Basically, it took forever.**

**And AFTER we moved we had to contend with a french exchange student. And all through that time I had no internet.**

**TILL NOW!**

**So yeah, here's an update, and I have chapter 17 written and 18 on its way! Woooot! This story's nearly finished, guys!**

**Sorry it took so long...**

**Anyway, here's the chapter, I hope you enjoy. ;3**

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The Wicked Witch

It was taking too long. Cursing, Link stopped Epona's gallop and let her rest, collapsing off of her as she gasped and heaved and dipped her head eagerly into a stream.

This was taking _far_ too long.

He'd seen her use that portal, the one Zant had been overly arrogant about, and that must have led her _straight _to the castle, perhaps without any time passing. And it'd already been, what, how many hours? He didn't know, didn't want to think about it. Anything could have happened by now, _anything_.

"Damn it!"

Lying with his back to the ground Link screwed his eyes shut and cursed and cursed. If Sheik and Veran had fought, he hoped to the gods that the daughter had won out. If only there was a quicker way to…!

Sitting up, Link slapped his face and groaned. "I'm an _idiot_. Navi!"

The fairy materialised out of nowhere, white wings fluttering in its blue glow. "Hey, what can I do for you?"

"You said you could do three things, three big things, and I've got two left, right?"

"Yes."

"I want to get to Hyrule Castle. Can you dothat for me?"

"Yes, and for the last wish?"

"I'm too tired to fight. Can you give me my strength back?"

"Yes, though that is at my limits. I won't be able to help you any further than that."

"That's fine." Link stood on shaking legs and patted Epona's neck, checking her gear as well as his own, to make sure that she was comfortable and that he was prepared for Goddesses knew what. "Will you have enough energy to make sure that she's safe?"

"The horse or Sheik?"

Link bit his lip. "A little of both?"

"I'm afraid I… can't help the latter of the two."

Link's heart froze. No. _No_.

"Get me to Hyrule Castle _now_!"

…,…,…

From the outside, it looked peaceful. And grand. Grander than he remembered from his short childhood there, but Link was more concerned with the lack of people commuting within the halls as he dashed by room by room, bypassing banquet halls and armouries and other such places. Where were the servants? Where were the other nobility? It was ridiculously _quiet_.

Like a trap.

Link ran faster, growling. His senses told him that there were creatures in the shadows, armed and snarling, prepared for the likes of him. But he ignored them, and in turn they stayed the hell away from his anger and his panic, knowing that if they stood in his way they'd be torn apart.

Besides, the fight was between him and their master; though that didn't mean they weren't being vigilant, no, several of them went in to report to their master, who cursed for being interrupted in her preparations, but thinking it over…

The young man finally found the doors to the throne room and he leapt at them with a battle-cry, kicking the large barriers open.

The place looked like every single natural disaster had hit it.

Fear gripped his gut. Link cried out Sheik's name, pushing away the boulder that obstructed his way, careful not to slip on the puddles of water that littered the cracked floor; the last thing he needed was to have himself wedged knee deep between two bits of castle. He scanned the places that still smoked or flickered with fire, thinking don't, don't, don't, let her be there. Thankfully she wasn't. His boots scraped hot glass; torn, soaked and scorched tapestries were discarded against the walls. And where the throne was shattered to splintered pieces, two bodies lay crumpled in dark splotches of blood. One was ornately dressed, gold pieces strewn around it, the other…

"_Sheik_!"

Link dashed to her side, rolling her over and smoothing away her hair from her face. There was blood on her but she didn't look too hurt, thank the gods, but why wasn't she moving, why wasn't she…?

The thought died in a burst of relief as she moaned and opened her eyes, her mismatched gaze dazedly meeting his. "Oh…"

"You're alright," he whispered, his strength draining like water in a desert, "By the god's you're _alright_. I mean… aren't you?"

"I… I think so," she blinked her eyes a little before moving, slowly propping herself up on her hands, Link helping her up as carefully as he could. She looked around, and gasped and clutched his shirt when she saw the other corpse. "I… I killed my mother."

Link helped her to stand, shielding the body from her view. "It's alright. She wasn't your mother. That's what you said, remember?"

"I… Did I?" she tilted her eyebrows down in thought, and conceded, "I suppose so, but that was before I killed her. I, oh goddess…"

She was shaking. Link hastily hugged her, and her arms circled his back too. "Hey, it's alright now. You're safe. She's gone."

She sighed, nuzzling his chest. Her voice still shook but relief lined it like silk. "I knew you'd come for me."

The Hylian blinked, confused. "You… you did?"

"Of course." She pulled away and smiled at him. "You're my Hero."

Something in his heart paused. Hero? Had she just called him…? Confusion was slowly creeping in, but Link shook it off. No. He had to be decisive; he knew that something was wrong here, but _what_? "Sheik, are you-"

"My name's Tetra." She interrupted, smiling shyly, "She said, before I killed her, she'd named me Tetra."

The still part of him began to cool with worry. He realised that she was just… dirty. No cuts, no bruises. There was no injury on her. "Tetra. That's… that's nice …"

"I know it's against what I said. But it just occurred to me, that, I _killed_ her. She was the only family I had, and… maybe taking the name she'd intended me to have… you understand what I mean, don't you?"

She looked at him pleadingly, a sight he'd never seen before. The worry turned to dread. "What about the others? Aren't they family to you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean."

She frowned a little, looking away. "You know I never really loved them," she smiled sadly, cupping his cheek in her hand, "Not like you."

She leaned forward and up. Link couldn't think of doing anything besides stand still as she kissed him, possessively pressing her mouth against his. She moaned as she pulled back, a smirk playing at her black lips. "You're all I want."

The dread completely iced over into something else. Link gently held her shoulders, pushing her away; he then gripped them hard enough for her to wince. "Sheik, name them. Name them _right now_."

"What are you-?"

"You never called me Hero before, and you've never, ever dismissed those kids as less than important. We had a _bloody fight_ three hours ago, and you're not even mentioning it. What's _wrong_?"

"Nothing!"

"What are their names, _Sheik_? The kids', your _mums'_?"

She snarled, just like she always did, but this was different, it was more savage, hungry, and Link shoved her away before anything he'd regret happened.

Pain lanced his gut and he yelled, stumbling back as the invisible forced that'd pushed him promised a bruise against his stomach. He retched as Sheik stood above him; too elegant, looking down her nose as if she owned him. Well, the last part was familiar.

"You _mortal_," she spat, and Link couldn't help but grin as he staggered onto his feet.

"Now that's more like it."

"You dare defy me? You _dare_ take liberties with the _Queen_?" and the blackness bled away from her lips, her mismatched eye grew whites and a pupil, and her hair combed back into patterns and plaits, and her rags became a dress that matched her brilliantly red eyes. "I will rule as Princess Tetra, and _none_ will defy me."

"Right, that's it," Link drew the Master Sword and clipped on his shield, very aware that his injured body would need time to recover, "Either somebody messed with your head, or you're not Sheik."

Sheik-that-called-herself-Tetra sneered, "You wouldn't _hurt_ me, would you, my dear Hero? You wouldn't take your beautiful weapon and behead me or anything, would you?"

"Don't count on it," he growled, though this Tetra had hit the bulls-eye. There was no way, _no way_, that Link would be able to hurt her. They looked too much alike. Heck, this really could be Sheik. But judging from the blue fire that bloomed in her hands, and the giant smirk that ripped her face in two, there was, again, _no way_ that he could avoid using some force of his own.

The blue fire coiled around her arms and they morphed into snakes, eyes dark as night, fangs sharp as filed ivory.

"_Get him_."

They streaked at him like lightning. Link swiped blindly and cut the snakes darting for him neatly in two, not that that helped. He still had to duck to avoid being scorched in the face, and when he looked back and they rounded on him again, the snakes had multiplied, growing heads from the severed tails.

"Great."

Link fully ran away; cutting those flying fiery snakes again would've been stupid. He hoped that going further away from Sheik-Tetra would limit their ferocity but she was conjuring more creatures out of fire and dust and light, and all of them looked distinctly lined with claws and filled with sharp pointy teeth. Brilliant.

He saw a puddle and thinking himself completely ridiculous but hey, it was worth a try, he jumped it, spun round, and kicked the water up in the air.

Two blue snakes hissed their last as they were quenched. The other two went straight for his face, so he batted them down with the sword, and they were slammed into the puddle shrieking. That left him with flaming flying green carrion birds, red wolves, and purple monkeys.

Well. Sheik-Tetra seemed to have her humour intact…

But this wasn't the way she fought. She didn't just rely on _magic,_ she was physical, brutal, snarling and animal in her battle, and this impostor just stood there, smirking as she twiddled her fingers like a puppeteer.

And that kiss had felt _wrong_.

Link experimentally cut each of the colourful flames, and they somehow sprouted new limbs and claws and multiplied. Right. Sword was definitely not going to work. And he was running out of puddles.

Making his decision Link sheathed the Master Sword and dashed to the side. Picking out a castle floor that was strewn with scoria, he scooped them up as he ran and threw them. The flame animals didn't multiply because they weren't being _cut_; even if they weren't being destroyed they were slowing down, their shapes hindered by the puncturing rocks. Link ran some more, hunkered down and threw again, and they were that much further away, and that much weaker.

Sheik-Tetra didn't look pleased. She slashed a hand and the flames merged to form a dark dragon that no amount of pebbles would stop it; it was big as three horses put together. It smoked from its whole body, blue tongue crackling like lightning lashing between it flickering teeth.

Link backed away and watched it roar, glaring at him without eyes, weighing the last fist-sized masonry in his hand.

He turned around and heaved the rock at Sheik-Tetra.

The fairy he knew would've dodged it. She would've seen it coming. She would've caught it, sneered, and tossed it back laced with magic to make certain that it punched through the middle of his forehead. But the impostor just stared at the rock that came at her, a look of outrage on her face as it zeroed into the side of her jaw.

There was a brilliant wince-worthy _crack_. She crumpled. The flaming dragon flickered out of existence.

Link cringed; he'd been aiming for the shoulder.

She was still as she lay there. Link hesitantly took a step towards her, craning his neck to see whether she was breathing. The fear that this was _Sheik_ with a controlled mind reared its head.

She was trembling. So she wasn't dead. That was good. But the way she floated and glared, light cracking through her beautiful skin, that _wasn't _so good. The shattered jaw that bled like a river just made it look all the more terrifying.

Link took three steps back, giving a quiet prayer to the goddesses as he pulled out the Master Sword again. "Sheik?"

"You as well?" she rose like a zombie and continued to glare. Her skin fractured and broke, drying into flakes of paper, and Link decided that it was a miracle that she could even speak. "First my daughter, now _you_!-?"

She was morphing into something that was white and large and shiny. His hands shook around his weapon as the Queen's hair fell off her head like leaves in autumn. "You're Veran. Oh Din, you're Veran."

She sneered as giant fangs sprouted from both sides of her mouth, curving like a hog's. "You realised too late, mortal; I'll have you within the Iron Maiden for this."

Like he'd allow _that _to happen."Where's Sheik! ?"

"What does it matter?" the Queen was becoming bulbous, her whole body bleaching as it grew a metallic sheen, and spots of emerald were sprouting all over her limbs like bruises. "You will be _dead_ for making me reveal this form."

"Don't reveal it then!" he protested hotly, "Just tell me where Sheik _is_!"

"I will tell you where she _will_ be," she snarled, and her face melted away, her arms and legs had split in two, and she was a whole lot bigger than she'd originally been. An eight-legged creature stood where she'd been, taloned and white and segmented, the body tapering into a tail that curled to the front like a scorpion's only on the poisoned stinger there was one giant eye, and the two front legs had crab's pincers. "She will be within _me_."

Link dove away as a pincer struck. The rocks cracked and shrieked as he panicked and _ran_. This wasn't part of the plan. This wasn't part of _anything_! Since when did the Queen have power like _that_! ? She morphed! Into a mutant _scorpion_! What the _hell_?

Oh god he was going to be eaten. He was going to die and he was going to be eaten. Just like Sheik.

Wait. Wait a minute.

Link skidded to a halt and rolled aside to avoid the stinger of the scorpion. Regaining his feet he turned around and held the sword up again, and forced himself to speak despite his terror. "She _will_ be in you. So she's still not dead?"

"Oh she's _dead_, as far as you're concerned, boy," the scorpion chattered between faceless pincers, "Just like _you_!"

She's dead like me. Which, if he thought really, really optimistically, then that would mean that she's _about_ to be dead. She might not be dead.

But if she was...

This _bug_ was the reason why.

Effectively turning his fear into rage Link lashed out at the stinger and there was a shriek of horror as the bane of all evil came very, very close to impaling Veran's eye. Link watched the poisoned dart just as it watched him, wavering in the air like a worm or a snake, not willing to attack now that he had the nerve to fight back. What kind of anatomical mishap was that anyway? How could she attack him without hurting herself, it made no sense, it wasn't as if she had another...

Pincers!

Link frantically raised his shield, averting the path of the claw that could easily break him in two, and then jumping aside to avoid the pincer's vicious attack. It made sense. It made so much sense. The eye on the stinger was freaking _distraction_. The proverbial worm and hook. Link wondered how the hell he was supposed to divide his attention between the razor fast stinger and the powerful claws...

He lunged and rolled again, narrowly escaping crushed bones. Adrenalin rushed through his blood as he saw how close he'd been, the hard shell, the tendons that bound it together…

Link stopped, spun, and raised his weapon. Tendons. Tendons could be _cut_.

Veran launched her bone-white claw at him again but this time he was ready; he stood his ground, raised the Master Sword, and pierced the muscles that made her pincers function. She froze and roared in agony, letting him wrench the blade up and down, and the roar turned into a shriek.

Link ducked back and away and circled round, focusing his attention solely on the lightning fast stinger; she was angry, she was _hysterical_ with rage, and she wanted him pinned to the floor, squirming like a bug, and she wanted to see it up _close_.

Besides, she was cradling the injured appendage close to her body with the other pincer; he was safe from that for now.

But _damn _the stinger was fast. And _accurate_. Link had to dance, to be quick and ready on his feet because one slip-up, if he so much as wobbled on the rocky ground, he was going to be impaled. He didn't think about the massive cracks Veran's attacks left on the floor, he didn't think about how fast she was, that he could hardly see her attack, that he was only and completely relying on something as insubstantial as instinct.

He swung is sword wildly, trying to get the damned stinger from getting at him, and that pause gave him just enough of a chance to see the other claw coming to pin him down.

Link swung his sword again and deflected the blow, the colossal effort of simply shifting the weight of the heavy appendage straining his whole body.

He couldn't handle the strain; his feet left the floor. His centre of gravity shifted too far to fix. He was sent flying, and a triumphant roar followed him as his world spun painfully out of control.

He groaned as he lay in the rubble, every single part of him aching, noting vaguely that the Master Sword wasn't in his hand.

Was he going to die?

He stared dully at the eye that sat smugly in the stinger, wavering gloatingly before slowly rearing back, quivering with anticipation as it readied to strike, in his belly, against his head, who knew?

He was going to die by this monster, that'd killed its own daughter.

Killed _his_ _Sheik_.

That single fact pulsed in his very core, spread heat through his whole body so fast Veran's strike seemed like a stroll in the fields. Rage burst through his skin, resolve sharpened his eyes and nose, revenge curled his claws and a roar laced his teeth as the wolf plunged up to meet the eyed stinger, watching the slit of a membrane widen in surprise and horror, as it helplessly saw the raking teeth and claws close in, the lupine body manoeuvre round the poisonous sting, paws latching onto the contours of the creature's cell as the jaw wrapped and sunk into its eye.

Blood spilled between his teeth as the creature shrieked.

The world staggered and heaved as Veran tried to shake him off, but e kept clinging on, kept biting, wrenching his head one way to another, making sure the fiend was completely and utterly blinded before leaping away.

He misjudged his distance and height, which led to a painful landing that ensured his right ankle got sprained. Gasping, Link returned to his Hylian form, shock coursing through his mind.

Had he really done that?

Indeed he had; with something like tired awe he watched Veran screech in agony as she blindly snapped her talons, searching for him, banging her body against the increasingly unstable walls. Just a little more. A little more. Link forced himself to stand, clutching his wrist, looking for the Master Sword. He found it and, after picking up a stone and throwing it in the opposite direction to confuse the blind scorpion, dashed for the holy weapon.

When his hand closed round the hilt, he knew exactly what to do.

He ran. He ran round and behind Veran, and with a battle cry leapt onto her back. She could hear him, feel him, so she writhed and tried attacking him but he was literally on top of her, and she dared not get him in the likelihood of poisoning herself.

With one last burst of energy Link leapt from the monster's back and, with the Master Sword guiding his hand, he rammed the blade into a crack in the wall. He swung his body up, just missing the bloodied stinger that rammed into the wall right after him.

When Veran freed her tail, the wall completely and utterly collapsed.

She gave a yelp of surprise when a rock hit her between the pincers. Then she yelled in fury as that one rock led to a hail, then a raging storm of boulders and bits of wall. The yell turned into a final scream as she was crushed.

Link still dangled off the blade and wall, just over the area where it'd fallen apart.

He touched down, the rocks having settled conveniently near his feet. Then he gasped and crumpled, relief settling deep in his chest.

He'd won.

_He'd won_.

…,…,…

He had to make sure.

The body had shrunk, presumably to its normal form, as a woman. Link rolled another piece of mortar from the pile and huffed, clutching his grievously injured right arm, looking through the gaps for any sign of life.

Then he heard a chuckle.

Oh gods. Oh gods. Link unsheathed his sword and pointed it at the large crack that was seeping red.

"Where is Sheik?"

The chuckle turned into a cackle.

Link snarled. "I can make this ordeal a lot harder for you, Veran, tell me where she _is_!"

"T-topmost tower, boy… though I…" the rest of her sentence died in a gurgle.

"Typical." Link spat, heart racing. What is he supposed to do now? End it? "You both love to be theatrical, don't you."

The dry chuckle was going to haunt him in his nightmares. "Do… do you know how I g… gained m-my powers…? How I was going to gain my daughter's…"

Another laugh, withering to a rasping cough that silenced itself, forever.

Shuddering, Link stumbled away, his hand shaking too much for him to sheath his weapon. What had she meant? How _did_ she gain her power…?

Zant's raving form burst into memory.

_The wench from your world drank and bathed in the LIFE BLOOD of Midna and turned it into her OWN!_

Oh Gods. Oh Goddesses, no, _no_!

Where the hell was that Tower! ?

* * *

**Okay, in case you guys were wondering, I separated the !s and the ?s by either a space or a dash because when I stick them together, erases the latter. So if I put it equasion wise...**

**! plus ? equals !**

**or**

**? plus ! equals ?**

**This happened to Masked Dreams as well, so I'm trying to think of a way to get those tings togehter yet separate without it looking too stupid. The dash, or the space? I honestly have no idea. So you get to decide! XD**

**Oh, and Veran disguised herself as Sheik in hopes of A: gaining her youth and beauty. B: gaining her identity C: Re-establish herself as the 'new queen' and D: to kill off everyone that may suspect her conection with, well, herself. And those who'd see through the deception, pretty much. **

**And I just wanted to make the chapter more dramatic. **

**Anyway, review replies!**

_**Me**_**: Thank you. I'm glad the little diagram sort of helped with the way my mind and time-travel worked. Though I wished I could've written it out in the story better. The tales at the end are based on actual fairytales, but mostly I make them up to fit the characters. Also, I congratulate you for working out which short story goes with which familiar. Woot! XD Oh, and I decided the actually story that goes with 'Army of Three and a Half' sucked so I killed it. I posted a few chapters up but then I deleted and abandoned it. Cuz it was really, really bad. :P**

_**Nyx the Last Keybearer**_**: Yay to epicness! XD Link adn Sheik are definitely going to need therapy (and making out) after this... And yes, the plot bunnies are twitching at my feet. I win! lol. I hope you liked this chapter too. **

_**darkwolflink1**_**: Thank you! I hope you liked this chapter too! **

_**Human Riot**_**: I'm glad you think so. XD**

_**:**_** Thank you! Sorry for the late update, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

_**Secretly Awesome**_**: Thank you! I'm glad the action worked (though I think I could've done better with this chapter) and I'm really happy that you review at all! So thanks again, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter.**

_**Teriyaki Chicken**_**: Hahahaha! Thanks! I hope the action scene here lived up to your expectations!**

_**Trolly's Bara-chan**_**: Why thank you! Well, here's the next chapter, and I hope you got to enjoy it just as much as the last one.**

_**CatsGotTongue**_**: Yep, just milking the snowwhite references to hell. XD I couldn't help it. And yeah, the Thorn bbushes are a sleeping beauty reference as well. You'll see why. And Sheik with the axe was sheik manipulating the apples and branches and turning it into an axe. So it was Sheik right after she caged him at the Colossus garden and saying that she was going to go poison Veran and stuff. Maybe I should've clarified that too... hmm... Anyway, I hope you got to enjoy this chapter too.**

**I'll update as soon as I get five reviews! So see you guys soon! XD**


	17. The Beauty Sleeping

**Okay, I lied somewhat; I updated after nine reviews, but hey, it's a hell of a lot faster than any other update I've given! So here you go! Mostly angst, and not much plot development (hey, the bad guy got defeated; of course there isn't much plot development) but hopefully it's cute enough for you guys.**

**Without further ado, I hope you enjoy. **

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* * *

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_Beauty Sleeping_

The Tower had taken too long to find. But find it he did, and it was still giving him trouble.

Link rammed his shoulder again, and again, and _again_ and finally the trapdoor burst open and something burst _back_, invisible and powerful and so hideously rank that Link staggered backward yelling, nearly tripping over and falling down the spiralling staircase, clawing at the stench that destroyed his mouth and nose.

His heart hammered wildly as he took a deep breath of clean air and barged in. Sheik, Sheik, Sheik, went the throbbing pain in his ribs, do not be dead, do not be dead, please Furore do not let her be dead.

Sunlight was scattered here like rainbow marbles, bouncing off a thousand facets of crystal statues disguised as candles and flowers and flasks of clear liquid, fist sized chandeliers dangling every few paces on chains that were equally glassy and fragile. The windows were so sparse and decorative and _everywhere_ that the walls were like delicate lace, twining in and out of patterns till it reached the peak, where there was maybe a chair's width of roof to cover the vast tower room.

The only thing that seemed solid was the black coffin in the middle, surrounded by a forest of sticks that gave off the heady, coiling smoke that made his head dizzy with nausea and pain. Red petals were curling in the half-heat of the burning incense.

Sick with the Queen's theatrics Link swiped the sword against his source of irritation and the pile of wood crashed, scattering against walls and glass and crystal that screamed as they were obliterated into a million clear shards and the petals danced with the ashes amidst the chaos of destructive demolition.

The Master Sword skittered with the wood as Link braced and heaved the onyx lid over the other side, smashing splintering wrecking whatever lay on the other end. When the ashes and petals cleared Link held his breath as he looked down.

Sheik lay, still as a statue, veiled in pale layers of gossamer and silk, her snowy hair wreathed with the black leaves of her birth tree, mirroring the shade of her lips; apples were arranged against her silhouette, their scent crisp and fresh-picked as if from her very skin, still the hue of lively flora; the redness of the fruit was a mockery of life in the eyes that would not open no matter how kindly he shook her shoulder, no matter how desperately he called her name, begging her to wakeup.

His knees buckled against the sarcophagus. He sunk, so slowly that time seemed to have thickened and swamped, onto the ground, and he whined like a dog in pain so deep and terrible that his cavalry hesitated at the door, watching his shoulders shake, his fists gripping the funeral shrouds so hard they would've surely torn, teeth bared in grief as his pain dripped from his chin.

"Link…?"

Link slowly turned his head and there they were, Ashei and Auru and Rusl. Now that he was paying attention he could hear fighting outside, and though he vaguely wondered what exactly they were fighting, all he could think of was his need to be left alone.

"Please go away."

There was some reluctance, but a silent agreement as they turned away. They would weed out immediate opposition before returning to the tower. They supposed that the boy would want some time alone.

They left, their pattering footsteps fading away. A piece of sky cut itself away from the heavens and fluttered down to where the Hero was sprawled sobbing for his Princess.

"Hey," it whispered, "Listen."

Link's head shot up and saw it. His face contorted in hate and rage, because he realised it was _Navi's fault_, everything, if the stupid fairy hadn't heeded the children and just kept the original contract, there would have been no kidnappings, no rebellious royalists, no cock-and-bull story on how he was the second in line to the throne, no quest, no Master Sword, no misunderstanding, none of the rest that led her to come here and… and…

But it had been him that had dislodged the flute from its perch, raked his teeth against her shoulder, made her bleed and so weak she could barely conjure parlour tricks when the Shadow Beasts first came to kill her.

If he'd stayed in his neck of the woods, new road or no… this wouldn't have happened.

Guilt the size of the moon barrelled against his shoulders, weighing him with a thousand years worth of shame and sorrow.

He quelled a sob as he forced himself to ask, "Why is she like this?"

"She ate the apple."

He snorted, despite himself. "Gods. Sheik. You stupid, stupid fairy…"

Navi fluttered her wings before adding, "She can be saved."

Link froze. He could've sworn the sentence turned into a boot and kicked him in the gut.

"Poisonous plants are like that; they breed near another plant that works as an antidote, or holds the antidote itself. The leaves in her hair came from the branch she plucked the apple from. If you could somehow get her to eat one, maybe two… she might wake up."

"And if she doesn't?" he hissed, his fists shaking with the effort to restrain the desire to have her back, the fear that it wouldn't work chaining him to the spot.

Navi fluttered her wings. "It's a chance. Isn't that enough?"

Link slammed his forehead against the lip of the coffin, wishing he could squash this nuisance of a fairy, this _fairy_ that knew nothing of this agony that sprouted from its words, the burning ache for it to be true, that it _has_ to be true, or else Sheik would never come back and signal the end of the world.

"…What do I do?"

"Take a leaf, make her eat it." Navi lifted herself off of the white shroud, adding, "I've done everything in my power to protect you all. Goodbye."

"Goodbye," he gritted out, furiously knuckling his face, swearing to himself that if Sheik didn't come back, he would _make her pay_.

The fairy hesitated, as if sensing his thoughts. "Hey… just… good luck," she sincerely bade, and flew away through the wall of branching brickwork, blending in with the sky.

Right. Alright now. He… he had to get Sheik back. He had to. He tossed the apples away and hunkered down onto the bedding, squeezing himself next to her, plucking the black leaves from her tresses. But _how_? She wouldn't be able to swallow it in a million years, not like this, not in this state of… Link avoided _the word_ at all costs. Sheik _will_ come back. She will.

Half an idea was prodding at the back of his forehead as he moved, pulling her from the cloud of white cloth, nestling her against his chest as he chewed a piece or two of the inky plants. He saw with disgust that they'd changed her into a simple white shift, clothing specifically reserved for sacrificial victims.

Was he dreaming that she was warm?

He worked his fingers against the hinge of her jaw and her features gave a merest twitch of discomfort. A feeling spread through his limbs so fast that he couldn't hold it back, so devastating in power and ferocity that it had his gut and heart tied in a knot and drugged every thought in his head, both poisonous and exhilarating in its ability to make him and its capability to break him.

_Hope_.

You're probably going to hate me for this, he couldn't help but think as he forced her lips open by a precious hair's breadth, pressing his mouth against hers and pushing the pieces of leaves through her teeth with his tongue.

Link coughed and pulled away, dragging his arm under his nose. Right. He'd done it. Now all that was left was for her to wake up.

He waited. Sheik lay there; quiet, still, having flopped against his chest as soon as he had let her go.

"…Sheik?"

Silence.

He shook her, a little, tiny, reproachful smile hesitantly crossing his face. "Hey…?"

The feeling inside him turned his limbs cold, souring the back of his throat and eroding his spine and scooping out his innards. A fissure cracked across Link's will. No. No, she had to wake up. He held her tighter, chewed more leaves and forced it through her lips like a mother bird feeding her chick, and he desperately searched her face for a twitch, a flicker, combing back her fringe with shaking fingers.

He waited. Still nothing happened. The warm hope that had shone for the precious second dimmed to despair as his eyes crackled, stinging with the tears that threatened to fall once more, like a storm waiting to happen.

Sheik twitched. Link froze.

It was with something akin to horror that he watched her convulse so violently that she sat up on her own, hacking and coughing and retching the black stuff out of her system, hands and arms flying to her face as if to dam it back in.

Absently Link patted her back, his body taking over as his mind grew wings and flew away in shock.

Her trembling gags subsided and she moaned and made a confused noise, closely knit with annoyance.

Link could hear the annoyance. The annoyance made him _mad_.

He grabbed her and threw her on her back and turned on her and yelled in her face like a bull. "_You bitch_!"

She looked shocked/frightened to near death but managed a gasping, "Link!"

"_You bitch_!" Link yelled again, infuriated that she looked so innocently confused, her face wide awake with surprise, "What the hell were you thinking!-? What in the bloody world made you think eating those apples would do you any good!-? Do you know what that Queen would've done to you!-? Oh wait you don't even have to guess _look around why don't ya_! You would've been cut open and drained like some pig and burnt to a husk in this godsdamned _fucking_ tower _dead_ because of those stupid apples! Did you even get to giving them to her? _Huh_? You could've run away after what you did to the throne room but _no_! _No_! Sheik has to go out with a fucking_ bang_ doesn't she!-? Has to go like a screwed up fairy-tale heroine for _justice_ or whatever other _crap_ you were pretending to fight for! Do you know _how… what_ you _put me through_ when you ate that bitch of a thing!-? You _idiot_! You could've waited for us you could've _run_ but you… you went and just…"

Sheik flinched as a tear of his splashed onto her skin, followed by many others. His arms shook from supporting his weight, now triply exhausted what with the fighting and the stress of _everything_ that had screwed him over…

But he had to get his point across. Even if he didn't know what the hell it was.

"Don't do that _ever again_. Shit, if you make me worry, make me scared, no, rephrase, _terrified_ for you, make me think that you're even _close_ to death, I will personally _kill_ _you_, send you to hell and follow you there. I'll… I'll…"

He let himself collapse, shuddering with the relief of her being _alive_. She was breathing, she was coughing some more because of his oppressive weight, she was warm, he could feel her heart beating against his shirt, her breath in his neck, the confused and apologetic whine in her throat. His brain degenerated with the sudden relief, and all he could do was shift blearily aside so she could breath, holding her close as he burrowed his face into her ghostly hair to hide his silent tears of happiness.

"Are you going to tell me what happened, now?" was her hesitant question.

Link wanted to growl at her to shut up, he'd thought she'd died, just fucking shut up and let me just be freakin' happy that you're alright, why don't you?

Instead he gave a shuddering sigh and shook his head. He held her closer.

"Where are we? Link, seriously, what happened? Are… what happened to _you_?"

He grunted.

"What happened to the Queen?"

Grunt.

"Alright…" was her patient drawl, "Is this the castle?"

Nod.

"Are the kids alright?"

Nod.

"Are _you_ alright?"

Nod-nod-nod. His grip round her shoulders tightened for a moment, kindly. Unseen by him, Sheik blushed.

"You…?" was Link's hoarse whisper, and her blush deepened. A small smile curled her black lips as she nodded against his collarbone. Tension melted away from the Hero's frame. Link had closed his eyes, calmed by her voice and scent and warmth, content enough to fall asleep. "Good."

Sheik nodded again in reply to reassure him, but then frowned, realising something.

"I ate the apple. The poisonous apple that should've killed me."

Link drew her closer to his chest. Nodded.

"And now… I'm here."

Nod.

"How? How the hell am I awake?"

Grunt.

Sheik rolled her eyes and lifted the arm she had coughed into, where the sticky, death-coloured gung of leaves was hellishly splattered. She gave a disgusted grunt as she wiped it off on the pallid, gaudy cloths, noting the distinctly resin-like smell they produced.

Sheik thought. Eyes widened. Blushed to the ends of the earth.

"Link…" she swallowed her nervousness down, noticing just how much his heat seemed to burn into her side, how _blatantly_ he was lying on top of her. "I can guess what the antidote is, but… _how_ did you…?"

The answer was a contemplative hum as he untangled himself from her side, his elbow supporting him up as he leaned over, peering into a face that looked both embarrassed and pained. He cocked his head to the side like a bird. He smiled derisively.

"You don't want to know."

She frowned. "… Right."

"Let's get out of here," Link muttered, eager to avoid an awkward silence, clambering off the sacrificial coffin-platform, helping her up sit up. "Can you stand?"

"Think so," she muttered, sounding unsure.

"Right…" he muttered back, eyeing her shaking limbs, "I'll help you then. I _would_ carry you but I think we'll end up in pieces at the bottom of the stairs if I did."

"Charming," she drawled, but shut up when there were footsteps at the door.

"Link," Ashei called out, treading into the room, "I know you're upset, and I understand that you wish to have nothing to do with… what are you doing?"

He looked back at the pale-faced Ashei, who was giving him a look that clearly said he was insane. He looked back at Sheik, who had slumped limply against him, eyes closed, an evil grin pasted across her face before she relaxed her expression too.

"Link," Ashei hastily continued, as if uttering his name would bring him to his senses, treading cautiously closer, "I can understand you're upset, but we can't carry the dead with us. Let her lie."

The hero rolled his eyes at the witch's cheeky trick. "It's alright, she's alive."

Obviously the puffed up, I-bawled-my-eyes-out look Link had wasn't that convincing.

"Link. You _have_ to let her go. I know a death is hard to accept, but-"

"No, really," Link wiped his face and tried to look sane. "She's only trying to trick you. She's playing."

All Ashei could see, however, was a Hero in psychotic denial.

"Alright," she coaxed, stepping to his side, gaze flicking from him to Sheik as fast as a bird's flighty wing, "Alright, she's playing. But we have no time for games, now, so let's… um…"

"_Ooga-booga-booga_!"

Ashei gave a shriek that killed Link's ears as she stumbled and fell on her backside, eyes wide with horror at the wild, red-eyed, sneering girl that was supposed to be dead.

Sheik chuckled, black lips wide with malicious laughter, "Hello, my precious, play we shall with knuckles of infants, torn childhoods our board, death and disease and famine as our dice, how many years of pain my dear, how many, how many shall we reap, my sweet?"

Ashei was gasping as if she'd run a mile, and her face snarled with indignant fury. "_You_!"

"Yes, me," she drawled, bone-wearily slumping herself against Link's side, "I knew you didn't like me Ashei, but _really_, were you hoping that hard for me to have been dead?"

"Stop it," he told her sternly, "You're the one who's being difficult."

"Mmm," she moaned, "I'm sorry."

"You alright, Ashei?" Link grunted as he helped Sheik out of the coffin, "You haven't cut yourself on some glass, have you? Or crystal, whatever these things are."

"I'm fine," she gritted out, fuming, "And I _still_ don't see how she's _sweet_, as you put it."

Sheik didn't reply, concentrating on standing, carefully shuffling her feet so her bare soles wouldn't be cut. "Damn it," Sheik moaned, clutching Link's shoulder, "I can't…"

"Here," he pulled her arm around his neck and took most of her weight. "Let's just get out of this area and you can sit at the stairs or something, to recover. I… oh Furore. Ashei. Is Zelda nearby?"

"She strategized this invasion; of course she's nearby."

Link clenched his teeth, hesitation clear in his movements. They tottered towards the stairs and the busted door, which Link kicked aside to pass through. He settled his princess on the stairs and she slumped there, breathing heavily.

The Hero crouched in front of her, worry etching his forehead. "Where does it hurt?"

She laughed. "It doesn't hurt. I'm just… just tired. Go on, save your sister. I'm fine."

He hissed in a breath, doubting her words, but he thanked her and turned away, hurrying down the stairs, not even realising he'd left the Master Sword on the tower floor.

Sheik raised a shaky hand against her face and whimpered. Ashei, who was about to follow Link, noticed. "You lied to him."

"It burns. It's _beyond_ hurt. My eye. My right eye."

Blood trickled between her fingers, like poisonous tears.

…,…,…

Most of the opposition had died. But the cavalry were still marching in, and Link knew his sister too well. He grabbed a soldier's arm, forcing him to turn round. "Have you seen my sister? Zelda, her name's Zelda."

The soldier was a ridiculously fit old man, and he looked extremely affronted by the youth that'd rudely stopped his march. "Have I seen who?"

"Blonde girl, yey high, wearing torso armour or whatever you call them over a priestess's dress…"

"You just described a third of the women's brigade till you got to the priestess part, boy."

"She was with the generals, planning the assault-"

"Ah the _Princess_!"

Link winced.

"Hold on, boy, wouldn't that mean that you're the-"

"Other brother, I'm the other brother, the useless one everybody complains about." Link overrode him, feeling no guilt over the lie, "And I really, really need to know where my sister is. She's with you guys, isn't she?"

"Nay, lad, she was one of the first to commence the assault."

Link's mouth turned dry. "..._Why_?"

"She wanted to make sure the better brother was safe."

"That _idiot_. Where is she now?"

"Rooting out the last of the resistance. Though none of us ever imagined that this place would be so full of abominations..."

Link didn't hear the rest of his sentence as he rushed towards the place where the man had pointed, and sure enough after a few doors full of strewn weapons and bodies Link could hear the sounds of fighting, and there were more people escaping with wounded friends and comrades. There was one goblin chasing one particular group, and Link viciously kicked it down, wrestled its crooked sword off it and stabbed it in the stomach. It promptly exploded after screeching. His right arm shot savage pain up and down his appendage in reminder of his injury.

Whatever hall he entered next was once a grand thing; now it was a decimated battlefield with pockets of fighting, and Link caught sight of his sister after moments that'd seemed far too long. She was fighting back to back with someone Link didn't know, someone who clearly wasn't that good at keeping his ground. At this rate he was going to put Zelda in danger.

Link sprinted, and hollering, distracted the moblin long enough to get it confused and bury the sword he stole hilt-deep into its belly. Link kicked the back of its knees for good measure, toppling it like a child's brick castle.

It bellowed to its death, exploding into ashes and clods of dried blood.

Link gasped and coughed at the smoke, doubled by Zelda's triumph over something a little smaller. "You alright?"

The young man coughed too and nodded.

"Zel?"

She wiped sweat off her brow and shook her sword free of blood. "I'm fine, Link. Where's Veran?"

"Oh, you know." He collapsed and gasped, sweat sliding down the side of his face as he sat trembling on the ruined floor. "She sort of turned into a scorpion and then got crushed by a boulder."

She knelt by his side, supporting his back and shoulders. "Are you alright?"

He nodded. "Mostly."

"Simon, please, will you be so kind and find my brother some water?"

"Yes your majesty."

"No don't, just..." the soldier was already gone. Link grumbled. "I just need a second."

"Can you handle yourself? I need to-"

"No. You're resting." Link grabbed her hand and didn't plan to let go. "You're not fighting anymore; there's no _reason_ to. Everybody's finishing their battles, this is the last pocket of fighting. This is it. _It's over_."

"Oh?" she glared down at him, taking her hand from his. "Then what's this comment about you 'just needing a second', hm? A second till what? Till you make sure I'm safe while you go off and be the Hero a little more?"

"I'm not going off to fight." Link muttered tiredly as he slumped completely onto the ground, "I just... I just need to make sure Sheik's okay. I need to make sure. I said that I'd go back for her once I knew you're safe."

"Sheik's... Sheik's alive?"

"No need to sound so happy," Link griped sarcastically, "Really, honestly, you truly are _blooming_ at the idea that Sheik's so much as breathing."

"But Link... she was Veran's-"

"I know! It doesn't _matter_!" he sat up and glared at his sister, who stood there gritting her teeth, "She's on our side, she fought Veran, she nearly died for _your_ cause!"

"She was opposed to our cause, the only reason she fought her was for revenge, she-"

"_I love her_!"

There was a shocked silence between the two as they processed the significance of the outburst. Link licked his lips, tasting the words; the way he said it again was like a realisation. "I love her..."

Pain contorted her face. She knelt by his side, touched his shoulder, as if making sure he was real. "Link, please, are you sure?"

"I love her." He laughed. He clapped his hand against his eyes and laughed. "By Furore, I love her so much. It doesn't matter, nothing matters anymore, nothing except her."

Zelda seriously suspected Sheik had put him under a spell, or he'd gone completely and utterly insane. She shook his shoulder as he dazedly stared at space at the thought of her, and spoke with urgent caution, "She'll be trialled as a criminal, Link. She'll be seen as another possible tyrant, Veran's blood runs in her veins, that's all the others will see in her."

"Then we're leaving before that happens." Link forced himself onto his feet, gritting his teeth against the pain. "I'm taking her out of here."

"You sound _insane_."

"I'm aware."

"Link, _please_!"

She pushed him down and _made_ him look at her. "I won't pretend to understand what it is you're feeling, and I won't try and make you unhappy. But you _have_ to think about what others feel, Link, this isn't just your problem! With this battle done you and I are officially the next in line to the throne. If you have her near our trust is gone, the whole country will go into turmoil again-"

"Then disown me! Does it look like I _care_?"

"What about _me_?" Zelda demanded, shocking him back to a saner mindset, "Don't you care about _me_?I love you Link, you're my brother, and I want you happy but that... that woman _terrifies_ me. It's not about her eyes, either, it's just _her_. The way she speaks, the way she holds herself scares me like nothing else. Why does it have to be her? Why do you love her, Link?"

"Because... because..."

"Tell me. Tell me why you love her, and if you convince me I'll see what I can do." Zelda gripped his hand, determined tears in her eyes. "Convince me that you're not under her spell, that this is _real_. Why do you love her?"

Link hesitated, quite unsure of what to say. He opened his mouth, closed it. Zelda asked how he and Sheik met for starters, if he couldn't think of anything.

The Hylian smiled. "When I was hunting for food, on the day you told me you were going to Kakariko, remember how I was late? I met her then."

"Weren't you scared?"

"She had that cloak and she was covered up, so I didn't see her clearly. I thought she was a man." Link chuckled, and continued, "I... got some stuff messed up, she thought I stole from her. I worked for her and the kids to pay it back. And yes, when I saw her first, I was terrified. But Zel..."

He gripped her hand, firmly but gently. "She's a great person. She looked after those kids when she could've easily left them to die. When she cares about something, she protects it the best she can. I know she doesn't have a lot of redeeming qualities, but... she protects even me. And I... I don't know when, but I started to want to be the one to protect _her_, for a change."

"But that's..."

"Do I have to have a reason, Zel, really?" he sighed, before standing up. "She's who she is, and I'm sorry if she scares you, because I understand; I was scared of her, once."

She still sat there, looking forlorn. "And why is it any different now?"

"She's scary because she wants to be strong. And she _is_ strong, physically. Gods you have no idea how powerful her magic is, just how much restraint she was exercising for the sake of those kids. But it's so easy, _too_ easy, to break her. And I want to be the one that makes sure that she doesn't end up broken. I mean, I... I hurt her. I want to apologise, and then... I want to see if she'll ever love me back."

Zelda looked at him, then at the floor, and gave a sigh of what sounded like defeat. "You're sure, then."

Link nodded.

"Fine. We'll go up to her. And we'll all talk, see what we can come up with. But don't expect too much from me, Link, please?"

"You're more than meeting expectations, Zelda," he hugged her, tightly, making her yelp. "Thank you so much."

"Princess! Princess!"

The two separated to see that it was Simon, and he quickly handed Link his glass of water before kneeling down in front of Zelda. "I have a report to make, your Highness."

"What is it?"

"A Prisoner has been caught, your highness, and she's been secured."

Link's heart froze. "She…?"

Zelda lifted her hand and silenced her brother before he could get a word in. "Where is the Prisoner being held?"

"A tower, but I'm not sure which one."

"Do we know who she is?"

"She's the one that's been clinging to him, your highness," Simon glowered at Link. "Veran's daughter."

It was all too much. The adrenaline, after holding him up for so long, drained, collapsing him like a marionette without strings. He landed on his behind, and then he slumped forward as he rested his arms against his raised knees. Link kept the buzzing in his head back long enough to tell them that he'd had enough before sinking into unconsciousness.

People would remark later that that was probably the most dignified faint they'd ever seen in a man.

* * *

**Helllooooooooo! XD So yeah, surprisingly acceptable update-time, right? Stay tuned for next time, because it's going to be a chapter full of FLUFF.**

**It is ridiculous amounts of fun, writing fluff.**

**So, anyway, review replies. **

_**FlameHeart11**_**: Thank you so much! Here's your update! XD**

_**HumanRiot**_**: Thanks man! But you have to wonder which battle was more intense; Veran v.s. Sheik, or Veran v.s. Link... anyway, I'm glad the whole transformation thing went well. I was kinda worried about that. And yay! Sheik is alright, though she really is in a big, big mess...**

_**Airian Reesu**_**: Yaaaay! XD hahaha, good to know the fightscene wasn't such a disappointment. And, yes, I did put a lot of effort into this story. Almost too much for a silly little fanfic... lol. And the time travel thing wasn't explicit at all. I'm pretty sure nobody would've noticed it if I hadn't explained it in the author's notes. It's just there to cause drama, confusion, and something else to cause a strain on Link and Sheik's relationship, to be honest. It's just me, being cruel to my characters. Bwahahahaha. **

_**CatsGotTongue**_**: The scorpian is modeled off Ghoma, with sort of a Spirit Temple boss feel to it, so unless I'm a psychic, I'm pretty sure there isn't a LOZ boss that's a scorpian. Or, and I sort of got the cutting claws idea form a Skyward Sword Trailer. Link battles a giant crab with eyes in its claws. Talk about anatomical failure...  
Our poor little sleeping beauty. Things just don't get easier for her at all, eh?**

_**Nyx the Last Keybearer**_**: It is my pleasure to tell you that the Queen is officially no more! BWAHAHAHA! Now Sheik and Link need to get over themselves and start making out. Hmmm... now, how shall I make that happen...?**

_**darkwolflink1**_**: After this I think I'll be posting a story based on the little mermaid. Guess who's going to be the half-fish? XD**

_**Gizomo**_**: Okay, when I first saw this, I was like (O.O) hooooooooly cow. Where did THIS come from? It's so HUGE! And then I saw it was mostly my stuff cut and pasted with you making it better, so i gave a sigh of relief and actually read it properly, though it hurt me inside.  
Hey, critisism (I'm pretty sure I spelt that wrong) is hard to take, okay? I appreciate your efforts, I really do, but still...  
Anyway, thanks for the suggestions. What's a conjunction again? lol, though I get what you mean. I just don't like commas when I'm writing fast-paced action scenes. You ARE probably right in saying that it WON'T take anything away from the action, but I like to write that way. At least, I DID when I started this. I'm not quite sure whether I still do it anymore. I hope I've improved.  
Good point on the label thing. I'll keep that in mind.  
I totally agree that that sentence made no sense whatsoever. But I can't be bothered fixing it, I'm lazy. ;P  
The exlamation mark thing actually isn't my fault, though that sounds really stupid. When I combine ! and ? the second one always goes away. It happened for a few of my other stories as well. Hence in this one I'm using the dashes.  
And, yeah, again the comma thing. I guess that part DID go a little too long without a comma, I shall concede that. It's just... it's suppose to happen in an instant. 3:  
Anyway, if you got to read the rest of the story I hoped you liked it, and you didn't find as many stuff to point out. But thank you for your pointers; it's helpful.**

_**Santora:**_** Ihope you got up to here by the time I post this up! Thanks for giving my fic a shot, and I look forwrd to another of your reviews. **

_**deikitty**_**: Another newcomer! Woo, I'm on a roll! Thanks for reading all the way through, and I hope you got to enjoy this chapter too. **

**HAPPY NEW YEAR, GUYS!**


	18. The Tallest Tower

It's very close to the end, people!

**Two more chapters to go, I'd say. I like twenty chapters, it seems. Now three stories in my archives go up to twenty. I wonder if I can finish a new one within the tens. **

**Hmmmm...**

**Anyway, FLUFF. And some plot development. Well... not really. But there's fluff?**

**ENJOY!**

**

* * *

******

The Tallest Tower

Link's voice was low and dangerous as he said, "Why can't I see her?"

Zelda looked uncomfortable, but their father had no such qualms as he faced his son. "She's the daughter of the enemy. She has powerful magic, not to mention a great influence over you. She won't be given a chance to escape, not until the trials."

"Trials for what?" Link scoffed, wincing when he shifted his bandage arm, "She tried to get rid of the Queen for crying out loud! She might as well be on our side, it's been_ a week_!"

"For all you know she was aiming for the thrown herself." Giovanni huffed righteously, "Nonetheless, a woman willing to kill her own mother should be trialled for her savagery. You won't be going anywhere near that dangerous creature."

Seething, the young man turned on his sister who couldn't seem to meet his angry gaze. "You're going to back him up on this?"

After a hesitant pause, Zelda nodded.

Link snorted and turned away to leave the room, spitefully throwing over his shoulder, "I thought you were better than that, Princess."

The oak door slammed, and the soldiers hurried to walk behind their future prince.

…,…,…

Her day was hardly regulated, simply because there was no need to. After all, she was never allowed to leave her room.

It was ironic, she supposed, as she leaned back against the lacy wall, that on both occasions of being trapped in a tower, it had been for the simple act of being born. Nobody wanted her alive. It would have been better if she'd never existed.

She nestled her head against her knees and wept.

Her keepers didn't think she needed an occasional walk outside; she was, after all, basically out in the open with these flimsy walls, and the tower was spacious enough. They'd cleared the glass or crystal or whatever those things had been, and replaced them with a chair and a desk and a bed and a bucket. Sometimes she was given a book to read, and she struggled through the long words and extensive vocabulary.

Food came every so often, without a schedule and without much consistency in quantity. She had the feeling that it was because they were giving her leftovers from meals. They didn't even make an _effort_ to make prisoner-meals.

Every few days they made sure she wasn't sick, and if they deemed her smelly enough they gave her some water to clean herself up with. Always they checked the ribbons round her wrists, to ensure that she couldn't use her magic. Then they left her alone in her simple prison, where the rats didn't bother her because they were too afraid to, where she felt the harsh breeze almost every night, where she could hardly see the stars because of the smoke from the city. But that usually didn't matter till she woke up in the middle of the night, sometimes with a headache, most times with heartache.

Sheik missed her familiars. She missed her wolfboy.

But she had the feeling that she could never face them again. Not ever.

…,…,…

There was a growl down the corner.

The sentry glanced down, and there was a flash of reflected light, and a shuffle of something big. He nudged his partner and lowered his spear. As he watched the creature in the shadows of the stairs, the other checked through the flap in the trapdoor that their prisoner was still there.

"All clear."

"You sure she's asleep?"

"Positive."

Before the first soldier could ask for proper confirmation the creature in the shadows spun and padded away, the light catching a furry tail as it departed.

"What was that?"

"It… looked like a dog, to me."

Three nights in a row it came, and by then every soldier that watched the Usurper's daughter knew about it. And each time, it got just a bit closer. At first it was just the tip of the nose, and then the snout, then the whole head sprouted out of the darkness, till it lay fully in sight. Anybody could see it was a wolf, not a dog, unthreatening as it was.

You couldn't tell what time of night it would be coming, or for how long. But it would be there, every night, closer and closer to the Daughter's door.

The sentries tried to tell the others, but when they came to see for themselves the wolf was never there.

The Prisoner didn't seem to care, notice, or realise that she was getting a visitor almost every night.

…,…,…

"Link."

He grunted.

Zelda sighed as she entered his room, where he was sulkily leaning back in his chair. His arm was still in its sling, because he kept testing whether it was healed, when it obviously wasn't. "Can I talk to you?"

Reluctantly, he nodded. Zelda folded her arms in front of her, and then folded them behind her back as she cleared her throat. "There's been… rumours."

The front legs of the chair hit the floor. He looked at her in puzzlement. "Rumours?"

"Well, not so much rumours as sightings, I suppose… of a dog."

Link flatly deadpanned, "A dog."

Zelda told herself not to get defensive before continuing, "Apparently it's been visiting Sheik's tower a lot. Do you know anything about it?"

"The only thing that comes to mind is her pet wolf," Link shrugged carelessly, returning to leaning back in his chair, "She picked it up after it bit her. It loves her to bits; probably wondering how she is, where she is. Has it attacked anyone?"

Dread sunk into her chest at how flippantly he'd asked that question. "No, it's just been… sneaking around a lot."

Link clicked his tongue thoughtfully. "You might want to let it see her, or else he _will_ start making threats. By threats, I mean start growling. The longer you delay him, the more violent he'll get. Trust me, I know."

Zelda sighed and kneaded her forehead. "We can't be giving liberties to prisoners, Link, especially to her."

"It's not a liberty, Zelda," Link warned, "It's a necessity and an intervention. The wolf has to see her, or it will go berserk. And when it goes berserk, and you have to kill it after it takes down at least five soldiers, Sheik won't be happy. At least, those kids won't. They liked that wolf too."

"Why aren't you so sure that Sheik _won't_ be 'happy'?"

"It bit her, Zelda," Link sighed, "I honestly don't know whether she's forgiven that wolf enough to mourn its death."

Zelda bit her lip, and silence settled between them.

Link hated lying to his sister, but this left him no choice. If this charade got him into that tower room, dishonesty would the least of his problems. "Zel, she'll be lonely out there. And cold. Even if it's just for the nights, let that thing in, please. If I can't see her, then let the bloody dog go, please."

There was much deliberating on Zelda's side, but she relented. As soon as she left Link punched the air in silent triumph.

…,…,…

He was regretting his triumph as he padded up the stairs. Every step on his right foreleg elicited a wince. He didn't even know Sheik would accept his presence in the same room, let alone an apology. But he wanted to see her, to keep her company. It'd been two and a half weeks now gods damn it. He wished Zelda had acted earlier on the dog rumour.

He rounded the corner of the spiralling stairs again, like he did every night, and this time showed his whole body. The soldiers straightened to attention, and lowered the head of their spears.

Link growled.

The one on the left was Ralph, the one on the right was Lex. Lex swallowed dried spit and said, "Are you the wolf Princess Zelda was talking about?"

Link stepped closer into the light, and nodded.

"You're the witch's familiar?"

Link _growled_.

"I don't think he liked that," Ralph muttered, stubbornly keeping his spear in place. "Will you attack us?"

Link shook his head resolutely.

"Will you try to set the Prisoner free?"

Link shrugged. Then rolled his eyes and nodded when the soldiers looked displeased.

"Will you leave in the morning?"

Impatiently Link nodded again, dodging past the spears and trotting up to their sides, scratching the wood of the trapdoor.

The two soldiers looked at each other, sighed, and let up just enough space for the canine to slip through before firmly latching it closed.

Link hunkered down immediately and waited for an attack, but none came. This both surprised and worried him. Sheik, not on guard? There had to be something wrong. Transforming back into Hylian form, Link took a deep breath and called out, "Sheik…?"

The moon was out, and the thin but sparse clouds reflected the light. The holey nature of the walls made the tower room a cold jungle of shadows, and Link shivered. Goddesses, how could they leave her out here? She didn't even deserve a light?

He could make out a desk, and a chair, but no Sheik. Where was she?

Wait. The desk was tipped on its side. Aha.

Link circled round, and there she was huddled against the wood to get as much cover from the wind as she could, blanket tightly wrapped round her thin body.

"Sheik…"

"Don't come near me."

Her voice sounded dead. Link knelt next to her, wanting to touch her shoulder but not sure whether he had the right. "Sheik, I came to beg you to forgive me. Will you… hear me out?"

She was silent.

He licked his teeth and took a deep breath. "I should've trusted you. I should've believed in you. When I found out about you and Veran, I shouldn't have been so judgemental. I knew you. I _know_ you. I'm sorry I didn't think about… I didn't think at all. Everything we had, I thought it was all a lie and I should've realised that you were above that. I'm sorry, Sheik. I'm so, so sorry."

"It's fine. Please go away."

"How can it be fine if you don't even look at me?"

She spoke with a rigid voice, without warmth or feeling. "Because I am no longer Sheik. I am Tetra. You are no longer my familiar. You owe me nothing."

It felt like ice had pierced through his heart. He almost staggered, it was so unreal, it reminded him so painfully of his fight with Veran, and that was a weight he hadn't been able to shake. "What…?"

"You heard me. You don't have a reason to be here. Leave."

"I don't… I don't understand…"

"You don't have to."

"Of course I do!" Link exploded, standing in his outrage, "I care about you! I care about you _a lot_! Why else would I come in and kill off Veran, which, just so you know, was terrifying. And scarring. I haven't been able to sleep properly since that night and everything still aches and I don't know whether I should be feeling guilty or not! She was your _mother_! I know she tried to kill you in this very tower but she was _the reason you exist_. Without her you wouldn't be here. And I need you here. And I still don't know what you really think about her, whether… whether it was _right_. And you are _Sheik_, Din be damned, you are Sheik, with three mothers, and seven familiars trotting after you and your little red cloak. And yes, that seven includes me."

He took another deep breath and nearly blurted out that he loved her, since he was being kicked out anyway. But he clamped up when he saw her shadow shift, the blanket dropping from her shoulders, the moonlight reflecting where her eyes would be.

She sat up, and looked down. "Do you really think so?"

"Um… think what?"

Her voice broke as she said, "That you need me?"

Next thing she knew he was holding her tight against his chest, and finally she had a warm shoulder to cry against. "Of course I need you. Those kids need you too."

Sobbing, she shook her head. "I shouldn't have been born. I shouldn't _exist_."

"Well you did. And I'm glad."

"I put you through so much…"

"Shh. I deserved it. It's alright." He stroked her back, inhaling the scent of her hair, shuddering at her warmth. She was here. Right here. He held her even tighter to make sure it was real.

"Oh Goddesses. Link, I'm so sorry, please, you have to let me go…"

"Why?" he did so anyway, pressing a hand against her cheek, trying to tilt her head so he could see her face in the moonlight,

"Wait, Link, please _don't-_"

She winced as the moonlight hit her face. He frowned; there was something off with her tears on the right side of her face. They were too dark, they were _black_, and it smelt like…

"Why are you bleeding?"

"Please…"

"Sheik, why are you bleeding? Who hurt you?" he combed her hair from her face but there was no injury on her, even as the black dripped down her cheeks. "What did they do to your eye!-?"

"Nothing!" she spat, wrenching his hand from her eye, hiding her whole face within her hands, "It's just happening. It just _is_."

"Sheik…" Link noticed something was off with her hair as well. He remembered well when he first saw it in both moonlight and sunlight; bright and blinding as fresh snow. And yet, this… this was off.

"Your hair…"

"I can't even do magic anymore," she choked, glaring at him. Her right eye looked splotched, like someone had splattered red paint over it. He saw beginnings of whites, a dash of a pupil.

Her Twili eye was dissipating.

"Look at me; my hair is now _yellow_.I _can't_ be Sheik. Not anymore. I can't do magic, I can't even _fly_. I've been flying even before I could _walk_. I'm no longer Sheik the exiled fairy, the wonderful godmother, the superior being in all things mortal. Magic defined me. Without it I'm just… I'm just Veran's freak of a daughter. The baby too ugly to be let alive. I can only be _Tetra_."

Link sighed. He combed his fingers through her hair, wiping the blood off the other on his trousers. "You'll always be Sheik to me, and to them."

"How would you know?"

"Because you gave them a home, taught them numbers, gave them friends, means to live. You loved them, and they sure as hell love you back."

She looked so slack. And expectant. Link sighed and hugged her again. "You're okay. You're still Sheik."

She sniffled, and then leaned against him. "You're forgiven, as long as I am."

"I don't have anything to forgive you for."

"The feeling is mutual, then. Will you stay with me?"

"I was planning to. Where's the blanket?"

She pulled it up, and he settled it round their shoulders before lying down, protecting her from the wind. But he was blocking the moon, so it was impossible to tell whether she had her eyes closed. He desperately wanted to kiss her, to tell her just how much she meant to him. But saying it would be impossible, and he didn't want to make a move if there was any chance of her not wanting it. So he waited for her to lift her head, he held her closer but nothing happened. So he gave up, for now, and watched her breathe, not realising that she was waiting for him as well.

…,…,…

They were facing the east, and if it was by coincidence Link both thanked it and cursed it. It woke him at a ridiculously early hour.

Grumbling, Link winced as the sun streamed obscenely bright into his eyes. Blocking the rays with his hand Link felt Sheik shift her position next to him, and winced again at her face.

She really was dissipating as a magical creature. Her black lips were chapped, the berry-hued skin peeling away to allow pink and raw flesh to replace it. Even in her sleep the fairy eye wept, squeezing a drop of blood across the side of her face, making another dirty track in the fan that stretched from her hairline to her nose. He was going to miss that white hair. There were shots of blonde sneaking in, as if time was reversing, taking the aged white and returning it with youthful gold.

It looked like she was keeping the hue of skin, though. He loved the warmth and colour that reminded him of fresh-baked bread.

What would the colour of her eyes be?

He tried to imagine her with any colour other than red, and it was fundamentally impossible. He really hoped the red eyes wouldn't be taken away.

"Stay still…" she grumbled, wiping the teary stains round her eye before crawling virtually on top of him. She didn't open her eyes once.

Link chuckled, making her laugh back. She pushed his forehead cheekily as she insisted, "Hold still I said, you pillow."

"Pillows don't talk."

"Nor do they move. So shhh."

He felt her leg tangle with his, the heat of her stomach against his side, the slide of her hand against his torso. He decided not to complain.

There was a pause as that same hand drifted up, resting close to her nose, right above his chest. "Your heartbeat's fast…"

Link made a face and hoped he wasn't blushing. "Yep."

He could hear her smile. "Am I that terrifying?"

"You're not what I'm scared of."

She lifted herself up, and her face was looming above his. "What is it, then?"

He swallowed. The splotches in her right eye were gone, leaving a normal eye, just like her left one.

And it was just as bright red as he remembered.

Not saying a word, he held her hand, giving it a soft squeeze before lacing the fingers, interlocking them. She blushed, making him smile.

Grumpily, she prompted, "Well?"

"Um… I've kind of forgotten the question."

"What is it that you're scared of, if it isn't me?" she elaborated, scratching the Spot as if to one-up his handholding.

It worked. "Little to the left…"

She laughed. Then she froze as the sound of the latch at the trap door echoed towards them.

Link sighed. "I have to go."

"Why?"

"I promised them. They wouldn't let me in if I didn't."

"Will you be coming back tonight?"

"Of course."

She pressed her forehead against his chest and sighed. "Come earlier. We can talk for longer, then."

"Alright."

She glowered at the sound of footsteps. "Turn wolf."

He did so, wincing when he was forced to walk on his still healing front right paw. He circled the table sullenly as new guards that he didn't know the names of hesitated at the sight of him. Link growled at the food they were holding.

"It's fine." He felt her hand on his back, calming him. "It's enough for me. Sometimes I get more."

Link barked.

"I don't need any more food, really. It's okay."

He growled a little more before sullenly nuzzling her neck. Then he circled round the guards, giving them a good glare before slinking down the trapdoor.

The guards shivered.

…,…,…

The wolf was earlier than usual that night. But it took him longer to get up the stairs, as he dragged a bundle of thick cloth behind him.

The guards lowered their spears again.

"No. Bad dog. No presents for the witch."

The growl that Link set loose was almost a roar. But it stopped at a yelp as the bundle he'd brought began to roll down the corner of the spiralling staircase.

They forced themselves not to smile as they watched the canine hurry down the steps and struggle back up with his load.

It even looked _sheepish_ for the undignified display. How did that dog give such expressions? It even looked pleading as it whined. The guards looked at each other, thought themselves fools, and uncrossed their spears.

"Fine. You can get those up, but this is the only time, you understand?"

The wolf's tail _wagged_.

…,…,…

Sheik couldn't help but laugh as Link dumped the whole thing next to her.

"What _is_ all this?"

"Well…" Link unknotted it to reveal what was inside. "The wrapping itself is a thicker blanket, to keep out the cold. Or to lie on top of, whatever. Inside, I give you, a lantern, a bottle of oil, matches, for starters."

"Starters," Sheik drawled as he lined said items in front of her, cupping her chin.

"For the main course, I give you, literally, a main course."

He unwrapped some paper to reveal bread, cheese, cooked ham, a bundle of lettuce leaves and a fist-sized cake. A peach followed, with a small jar full of what looked like cream.

"Oh, Link… you shouldn't have."

"I have, so it's all good. And, here. I brought you these, too."

He gave her the parcel of paper, and quizzically she received it. He watched her untie the string, using the lantern to read the different letters, letters from…

He grinned at the look of pure awe and wonder as she read each and every one of her familiars' names.

"By Nayru… I can't believe this."

"They miss you, Sheik."

She laughed and dived into his arms, still clutching the letters in her hands. "Thank you! Thank you so much, I, I needed this, I really did, thank you, thank you…"

Link cleared his throat, patting her back. "They would've hurt me if I hadn't delivered them by the time they saw me again."

"How were they? Were they alright?"

"I think they're trying to let you know themselves." He hinted, tilting his head towards the letters in her hand.

She didn't need any more prompting. She just sat there and read, eyes flitting back and forth across the pages.

In the lamplight she looked a lot better than she did in the morning; her eyes were utterly balanced, her hair looked healthy, and her lips were healing.

He looked away, quietly clearing his throat. He rummaged in the blanket, pulling out a roll of bandages. He wrapped his wrist, still aching from the battle that still seemed like yesterday, planning each step of what he so desperately wanted to do that night. Once done, he scooted a little closer and placed a hand on her back. She looked up at him and smiled before leaning into his side, still reading.

Link sighed. So far so good.

He waited till she was done. She giggled as she slumped, sidling closer to him, placing her hand on his knee.

This… was going better than he'd ever hoped.

"So?"

"They all seem to have a home to return to."

"That's good, I guess?"

"Better than. I was worried that they'd have to fend for themselves again…"

Link held her hand, gave it a gentle squeeze. "You worry too much."

She shrugged, and turned her head to meet his gaze. "Do I?"

He nodded.

They stared at each other till Sheik looked away. "How… how different do I look?"

"Not that different."

"My hair's like _yours_, now. And I know my lips are peeling, it hurts, and it's disgusting. I'm also not looking forward to see what colour my eyes would be."

"They're still red."

"Perfect." She muttered derisively, "I'm still a freak, a monster."

His grip on her hand tightened. "You look stunning. You always have."

She froze, and shook her head with a laugh. "Stunned you to terror, I remember that much."

"Only because you were trying to kill me."

She looked back at him, rolling her eyes. "Right…"

She had her head resting on his shoulder; they were close, so close. The hand he'd placed on her back circled her waist. She leaned up, and he dipped his head down. Their breath mingled before their lips met, unsure, chaste, and ever so softly.

They parted. She blinked, cleared her throat. He licked his teeth, looked away.

"That's the thing," he cursed, "I _know_ I can do better than that."

Sheik snorted and gasped as Link gently guided her back, pressed another kiss to her lips, this time gently pressing, retracting, pressing again, combing her hair from her face so it wouldn't get in the way, and he _tasted_ her, the fire and blood and the strange musk of ebbing magic.

When he actually ended the kiss he grinned at how breathless she was, just how flushed she seemed to be. "You liked that?"

She hit him. "I hate you."

"No you don't."

"Shut up."

"Alright."

"Stop smiling."

"I honestly can't."

She laughed and threw herself back into the mattress, dragging the thick blanket Link had brought for her round her shoulders, practically burying herself in it as she curled in, muttering: "Goodnight."

Link paused, now sort of unsure whether everything had turned out alright…

Sheik sullenly popped her head out of the blankets and scowled. "You coming in or aren't you?"

"Yes master," he replied, wide smile coming right back as he crawled in next to her. He held her, kissed her forehead and after a shy request they kissed again. They lay a comfortable distance from one another, happily getting ready for sleep.

Link grinned. "Can't wait till tomorrow."

Sheik snorted. "You've got to be kidding."

"What? I finally got round to kissing you; why aren't I allowed to look forward to it?"

"Link…"

He stopped, and shifted closer to her. "What? What's wrong?"

"…You've forgotten, haven't you."

"What? Forgotten what?"

He felt her arm drape around his hip, as she sighed that tired, sad sigh. "There _is_ no tomorrow. At least, not like this, not at night. At noon… I'm going to be on trial."

* * *

**Wheeeeew, FINALLY! Things are moving along, and going from not so bad to pretty bad. Oh how I good I am at that, eh?**

**Anyway, review replies!**

_**Lady Kurina**_**: I know, right? But yeah, it's just so much convenient for the revolutionaries to simply name her a baddie and try to kill her off, you know? Not that Link or the kids or you readers yourselves would let the characters (a.k.a., me,) to do that, so it'll al be okay! XD**

_**Nyx the Last Keybearer**_**: Well, not so spur of the moment, but hey, this is pretty good, right? Thank you for thinking this is epic! I hope you liked this chapter too. **

_**darkwolflink1**_**: Happy New Year to you too! Yeah, Link had too much on his plate at once. XD It's so much fun this way! Anyway, I hope you like this chapter too, and i thought Sheik would be a mermaid too, but i changed my mind and made it Link. X3**

_**Airian Reesu**_**: Thank you! I was worried that i overdid it, but it's good to know that some people don't agree. :) The tower room i made up for the hell of it; I decided to make everything pretty, and crystal's great just for prettiness. XD **

_**deikitty**_**: Thank you! I hope this chapter makes up your day as well! **

_**simply anonymous**_**: hahaha, the best part is you guessed right when you said that Link was gonna go wolf. As for the elope part... we shall see.**

_**CatsgotTongue**_**: Navi, Navi, you and your silly meddling. Especially when we're trying tocllect all those many many hearts... sigh. And torturing Link is FUN AS. Best pass-time EVAR. And seriously, writing is all about practice. Take 'The Princess' from the stories. I don't HATE IT, but I dislike it most out of all the stories I've written so far. Actually, do I still have Army of Three and Half up? Because I really HATE that one. Anyway, both of them are early works, and I truly wish they didn't exist. But without them my writing wouldn't have been so appreciated from people like you. So thankyou. **

_**Sparty the Bold**_**: I do have to admit that this Sheik is DRASTICALLY different from any other Sheik I've written, but that's pretty much because I write so many Link/Sheik stories I get worried that their personalities become similar and jumble up. And yay for apple use! Or else how else was I gonna get Link to kiss Sheik while she was sleeping? XD And, you're right. The whole conversation with Link and Zelda about Sheik may have been a taaaad too dramatic. :P**

_**Trolly's Bara-chan**_**: ...That actually never occured to me. OHMYGOD. Link kissed his crush's MOM. EWW! Sheik would kill him if she ever found out!**


	19. Happily Ever After

**You know what? I could've stretched this to trial chapter and then ending, but I just. couldn't. do it. **

**So here's the ending! It has been a BLAST writing this, just so you know, and I thank you all for sticking with it despite the numerous hiatuses. **

The Trials were being held in the courtyard of the Castle, considering how utterly destroyed the Throne room was. And of course they had to do Sheik first, for being closest in relations to the Queen, but mostly to set her up as an example.

Sheik was shackled to the spot. The day was bright, reflecting off the chains on her wrists, snaking down to where it was weighed down bits of castle. The weight made her want to slump forward, but Sheik gritted her teeth and held it up, determined to never bow down to mere mortals.

The higher members of the revolution was seated in a U, with Giovanni, Zelda and an empty chair at the inner bend, right in front of the once powerful mage. The father of the future Queen looked disgruntled that he was not sitting right in front of her; that honour had been given to Zelda. Giovanni sat to her right, and it was to her left that the chair sat without an occupant.

Sheik's lip twitched upwards derisively. "I suppose that throne was meant for the Prince?"

Giovanni glowered. "Quiet, witch."

"I'm a witch no longer, if I ever was one," Sheik shrugged, flicking her head to remove her now blond fringe from her face, pursing lips that were no longer black. "My power died with Midna's."

Zelda rapped a hammer against her desk. "Order for this trial, please."

The soft chatter that'd been present round the seated men and women went quiet. Zelda delicately placed the hammer onto the table before leaning forward, placing her palms on the solid wood.

Giovanni stood, smoothing down the front of his shirt. "Sheik Nohansen-"

"Nohansen?" Sheik sneered, "Is that your way of pronouncing nonsense?"

There was a murmur of disapproval as Giovanni flushed red. Zelda stood, and Giovanni, after a reluctant pause, sat down. "Sheik Nohansen, daughter of Veran Nohansen, you are charged with attempted matricide."

The girl wrinkled her nose. "What's matricide?"

"The murder of one's own mother."

"Ah." Sheik nodded, smiling. "Am I allowed to speak? To agree with or deny your statement?"

Zelda nodded and answered before Giovanni could make a retort. "Yes. How do you plead?"

"I will not plead, but I will state a point of fact." Sheik stared stonily at the U that seemed to cage her, the glares of people who saw only a daughter to a tyrant queen. "And the fact is I did not intend to kill my mother. I intended to kill the Queen, which you were all aiming to do."

"Then you misinterpreted our goal." Zelda replied evenly, "We were not here to kill her, but to capture her and sentence her for her crimes. Veran would have received a fair trial also."

"You call chains and manacles fair?" Sheik spat, barking out a laugh. "But then again, I should be lucky for not receiving immediate execution, I suppose?"

Zelda sighed and shook her head. "We are digressing. We are not here to discuss what we would have done, we are discussing what we are about to do with you."

"Which is kill me, is it not?" Sheik huffed shifting her weight and making the chains clank. "After all, Veran birthed me."

"She admits it." One of the men sitting to Zelda's left stood and pointed a finger at Sheik. "She admits that she is Veran's daughter!"

Sheik shrugged and poked her tongue at the man. "That doesn't make her my mother, half-wit."

Sheik glared at Zelda and then Giovanni, sneering at him before returning to the young woman. "I was raised by the women that supposedly helped with my birth; I for one don't know how true that story is, but that doesn't matter to me. They probably changed their names, considering what they were, but does that matter either? What matters is, they raised me. I wasn't aware that I and the Queen were connected in any way until it was revealed to me while I was searching for my mothers' graves. I found out then that Veran had ordered a search for them and myself, and they sacrificed themselves to save me. They died by Veran's hands, and I was left alive."

Sheik spun on the spot, glaring at them all, baring her teeth with spite dripping from her words. "Do you understand now, why I wanted Veran dead? Same as you, really. She did an injustice. She killed the most important people to me at the time. Those three were my mothers, and Veran took them away from me. Veran may have brought me here, she may be the reason I exist, but she is not my mother! A mother is a figure of care, and love, and guidance and strength and she was none of those. So I tried to kill her. And I meant to do it. It was the sole reason I came here, the sole reason I nearly died as well. So deal with me. Why should I care? No-one cares. But don't you dare, don't you dare hang me or convict me or whatever you intend to do with me, under the supposed crime of attempt at killing my mother."

Sheik squared her shoulders and looked Zelda in the eyes, without shame, without guilt, her stark red gaze gleaming with conviction. "My mothers have been dead for years; I tried to murder Veran as means of revenge. Is that a crime? And if so, how different is it from you?"

"The difference between a trial and a lack of it is huge, Sheik." Zelda reprimanded sternly, rapping the hammer against the desk to silence the murmurs her rant had caused among the U. "For one, we can lower your sentence."

Sheik burst out laughing as the other members of the revolution looked horrified. "Lower my sentence? How-"

"Sheik!"

The girl froze. Link came dashing in, leaning on his chair gasping for breath, and when he looked up at Sheik, there was both hope and triumph in his smile.

He coughed swallowed, and panted. "Sorry I'm late."

"What are you doing?" was the fairy's horrified whisper, as Link wiped his chin of sweat and stumbled into the glaring scrutiny of the U.

"I'm saving you, like every other prince in a fairy-tale does." He whispered right back, then rolled his eyes. "Though I say I already did it after facing that scorpion."

Sheik snorted half-heartedly, unable to help but blush. "What am I then? A go-lucky peasant girl?"

"Hey, you're a Princess. Through and through." He turned to Zelda, gave an exaggerated bow, and said to the general people, "It's true that I think Sheik's innocent and deserves to go scot-free. She didn't kill Veran, after all, it was the castle collapse that did it, and she wasn't even on sight, much less conscious. Also, trials or no trials, in Veran's case it was mostly going to be ceremony. Ceremony of justice, considering everything she'd done, but still, ceremony. We all wanted her dead and it just conveniently makes us look like the good guys when someone else, Sheik, killed her off for us. The trouble is, she didn't do it. So you have to trial her on attempted matricide, to keep up appearences. That gives you, what, imprisonment? For a few years, ten tops. But you don't want that, do you."

He grinned at Zelda, who'd previously told him all that he'd said out loud, because she needed a bad guy that made sense, and he was happy to fill in the gap. "A prisoner can escape. A prisoner can be helped. That's what you're all afraid of, right? The only reason Veran kept her throne for so long is because she pleased the nobility and the upper classes. With her gone, they have nothing left, except…"

Link pointed at Sheik. The girl grimaced. "You're insane. They'd want me? For what?"

"Support. They'll want you for your power, the Queen's power."

Sheik snorted, rolling her eyes. "It died. I can barely raise a flame, I'm weaker than your precious wizards and that is saying a lot. Veran's borrowed power was my borrowed power. With her dead, the connection between me and her that kept the magic going is gone."

"Meaning she couldn't keep up the empire Veran had even if she wanted to." This he said to the people around them, who looked sceptical at best. "Look, you can't have her hung, drawn and quartered, and you don't want to have her imprisoned. So…" shrugging, he leaned onto Zelda's table, and shared their sibling smile. "Banish her."

There was a roar of protest so loud that Zelda abandoned the hammer and shouted: "Enough!"

It went deathly quiet.

"Now," she glared round at her generals and spoke lowly, warningly. "Do any of you have a better idea?"

There was an uncertain shuffle within the ranks, and then one of them stood. "We don't know whether she'll create an army to take the throne."

"Indeed, we have no witnesses of character." Another pointed out. "If others aside from Prince Link can assure us of her character…"

Link smugly rattled off the following names. "Renado Le'Kath. Rusl Cagewater. Telma Blanchester and Chudley Malver. I'm sure you'll be happy to hear from them."

Accusing eyes swivelled to the chairs in which said people were sitting in. They looked at Link in disbelief, in outrage, to put them in such a position and Link shrugged in response. "You guys recently adopted a few kids, right? Well, except Renado. Luda was your daughter to begin with."

It dawned on the adults what on earth he was talking about. "The children."

"Exactly right, Telma." Link nodded happily as Sheik looked at him with something akin to anger, "The kids. Six in total, all of them lived under Sheik's care for at least a year, am I right, Sheik?"

"You can't get them involved. I won't let you! I won't let them see me like this."

Link rolled his eyes. "They won't. They're not allowed to, they're like me. We're too close to you, so we can't give an 'unbiased' opinion. But they can."

Sheik snorted. "I don't see how, considering they despise me. They all despise me."

Link ignored her and faced the swords-master, sitting close to where Link himself was supposed to be sitting. "Rusl, you're adopting Colin, right?"

Rusl glared at Link before sighing and nodding. "Yes. Yes I am."

"Care to tell us why?"

It was with great reluctance and some embarrassment that he said, "He has a good heart, potential as a swordsman, and has no family. My wife is with child, and we thought Colin could do well with a younger sibling, and our child could do with a protector."

Link smiled. "So you're not adopting him because you think he's a danger to society and needs to be put away from his past and shaped into a good adult."

Rusl frowned. "No."

Link's smile never wavered as he looked for the next person on his mental list. "Thank you. Chudley Malver. We met at the slave trade that day, didn't we."

The snobbish man ruffled his moustache and huffed. "I suppose."

"I remember you complaining about how you were surrounded by ruffians or something, and that you were looking for assistants. Strange, how you're taking in two kids, isn't it?"

"Hardly," the man scoffed, crossing his ankles languidly, "Malo is an excellent accountant with a shrewd mind for business. Talo seems more a lad used to working with his hands, but I have partners in need of an apprentice or two, and I'm pleased to be able to recommend him to my trusted companions."

Link's smile was threatening to become smug as an uncomfortable murmur spread between the leaders. "And Telma. What's the connection between you and the last two kids? Agitha and Beth?"

Telma scowled at the young man's cheek. "Nothing, except I'm planning to help them find Beth's father. They intend to stay at Agitha's old home together, and in exchange they're to send honey to me."

"And, Renado, how's your daughter? Does she seem, I don't know, scared? Scarred in some way? Physically, mentally?"

The Shaman gave a deep sigh of resignation before admitting, "She's fine. She's as healthy as I could have hoped her to be, considering I thought her dead."

"So all these self-sufficient, smart, capable, _good_ kids, were under _her_ care." Link confirmed, pointing his finger at Sheik.

There were nods at different levels of enthusiasm. Link raised his hands and spoke to the gathered men, looking mock-grave. "There you have it, folks. Kids were under her care, and they are _good_ kids. Smart kids, and I _know_ where their skills come from, because I saw it earned. It was from her. This girl, has made a positive influence on six children. Doesn't that reflect on her at all? Zelda?"

She contemplatively eyed the 'witnesses' and then the convicted and gave a slow nod.

"A call for a vote, then," she proclaimed, rapping the hammer against her desk. "A vote on confidence. It would be silly to vote on whether Sheik is guilty or not, for she _is_ guilty of a certain crime, which has been converted to attempted matricide to attempted _regicide_, which is punishable by banishment or execution. Considering she failed on her attempt, it would be unjust to execute her. Thus, she will be banished. However, the distance will vary according to this vote of confidence."

She rapped the desk with the hammer again before standing. "The vote is simple; those who believe our impromptu witnesses, and trust their judgement, shall come to this desk and tap the hammer. Those who do not believe, stay your hand as you pass. The voting hands shall be counted by myself and my father, and the severity of the sentence will be decided on that. Your anonymity and opinion shall be protected and respected. Let the votes be cast."

The generals stood from their seats and walked past Zelda's desk, and one by one they tapped or didn't tap the hammer, and Link and Sheik waited with baited breath as Zelda and Giovanni and others counted the votes.

When the final man passed the desk Zelda stood, confirmed the numbers, and looked at Sheik.

"The Vote has been cast."

…,…,…

Link knocked, twice, and after the long, long silence he turned away but the door opened on its own accord and red eyes squinted at him from the gap.

"…Link?"

"Yeah. Can I come in?"

She opened the door wide, and the sunset dyed her hair pink and flushed her cheeks to a golden glow. He cleared his throat nervously as he was gestured in. There was a satchel full of her trinkets by the foot of the bed, ready to be wrapped and packed.

"What do you want, Link?" she sighed, raking her fingers up her scalp, sending her hair flying like a fountain wave, "I have to go soon."

"I know." He closed the door behind him, and his brain having disposed of the planned speech in a gutter of his pathetic conscience, he blurted out, "Actually that's not true. You still have a night here. And, I don't want you to go not like this, not, damn it, I, there's _got_ to be another way, isn't there? You're still not a criminal!"

She smiled at him, black lips lush as berries, and shrugged. "Actually, I'm glad to go. If I were to stay, I'd… I'd truly be Veran's daughter. I have my own mothers, after all."

"I know. I, I know."

She laughed at his hesitance. "Link, you're going to make me cry. And I'm no fairy, half-cast or otherwise. My tears'll mean nothing to you."

He sighed again. "So you're going to go back near Ordon? Or…?"

"Not the Arbiter's Grounds, no," she rolled her eyes, "I don't intend to desecrate my mothers' burial, among others, with my presence. No, back to Ordon. It was the best shelter out of them all, the closest to home, since the tower."

"I'll miss you." He told her awkwardly, wishing now he had brought her something, like a token, or something, just… anything. "You and the kids and… the time we spent hiking to Kakariko was the best, really. It was awesome."

"You flatter me, Lord Prince."

"Don't call me that!"

"Are you _sure_ you'll miss me," was her mock-puzzled stare, "Because you don't seem to enjoy my idea at banter."

"You, just, ugh, damn it," Link muttered, and she pulled a smile out of him as she laughed again, that impish triumphant laugh that made him want to kill her and shake her and kiss her all at the same time.

He opted for the kiss. She gave a muffled cry of surprise before she quieted, circling her arms round his hips as he drew her closer. She was warm, and small, and her hair brushed his jaw like a silk cloud. He really liked this, he noted, so much that he never wanted to let go.

When they parted pressed his forehead against hers, gritting his teeth. "I just wish I could've done more for you."

"You stopped them from killing me. I think that's good enough."

"Not by my standards." He muttered with a curse-worthy tone, before adding, "Won't you be lonely?"

She nodded slowly, that fake smile still pasted on, and then looked at him. "Of course not. But I'm Fairy enough to reconnect with those other fairies, Tatl, Tael, Leaf, Ciela…"

She faltered under his stare, and under her dusky complexion she blushed. She stepped away, grabbing things and throwing them into her bag without care, and there was another knock at the door.

"Who is it?" Sheik groaned, rubbing her eyes, "I'm leaving soon, Goddesses' sake, I still have time, don't I?"

"Indeed you do," Zelda said as she opened the door, "But this isn't about your time-limit."

Link jumped and sheepishly averted his gaze under his sister's disapproving stare. Sheik rolled her eyes. "What is it, then?"

"Call it insurance. But I thought I might give you these, to ensure you're not tempted to come back." Zelda extended her arms to show the bundle of red cloth in her hands, and the book that was nestled in it.

Sheik leapt forward and snatched the things from Zelda. Her hands shook and her voice was strangled as she held one item in each hand. "My book. My _cloak_."

"They're the most important things to you, are they not?" the princess asked, making the girl spin back to meet her eyes, "That is, as I say, insurance. You may have what you treasure most, and take it from this castle under the oath that you'll never come back."

Sheik clutched her things to her chest and nodded, grudgingly. Zelda nodded back and made to leave. "Link?"

"Um, just, give me a moment, Zel," he waved her goodbye as he watched his fairy. "I still need to talk with Sheik."

The princess sighed but left. The silence she dropped behind her was awkward and almost unsavoury, at least for Link. He crossed his arms and drummed his fingers.

"The most important thing to you, huh."

Sheik snorted as she shuffled through the pages. "One I can take, anyway."

"So…" he told himself not to be judgemental even as a note of accusation crossed his voice. "Your mothers take precedence over those kids?"

"What do you _think_?" she spat, hurt in her glare as she snapped the book closed, "But how could I pick? Zelda said _one _thing I deem most important, and as far as I'm concerned they're all equal to me. And even if I take them all they have a proper _future_ now, they can live a life I can never offer them. How am I supposed to take them away from that?"

"And what about _me_?" Link demanded, "What am _I_ to you? Why won't you even _consider_ taking me? Am I second best? A pet on the side? Is that what I am?"

She bared her teeth at him. "You wouldn't understand-"

"Oh is _that_ what you think-"

"Of course you wouldn't you thick, stupid-"

"Well maybe if you'd _explain_-!"

"Work it out, mortal! It's not that hard if you had half a brain_-_"

"_You're not a fairy_, _so ENOUGH with the mortal label_!"

She froze and looked at him, and her bottom lip trembled and he kicked himself, because he hadn't really meant to say that, not, at least the fairy bit, he knew she was still sore about-

"You're _right_," she burst out, tears ringing her lashes, "I was _never _a fairy, just a stupid outsider with nothing to her name and no place to go but _I don't give a damn_ you hear me because this is the bravest thing I've ever done ever and a-and I didn't even _think_ to regret it till you, you…"

She sobbed and to his complete and utter dismay, tears squeezed through her closed eyelids and leaked down her cheeks, glistening like fallen stars. He gently held her arm and wiped her face, combing her hair back as guilt bit his gut, "Sheik, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…"

"Don't _touch_ me." She snatched herself away as she knuckled her eyes, fumbling with her satchel of things and her cloak.

Link's heart sunk. "I'm sorry. I just… I shouldn't have said that."

She sniffled. Link opened his mouth to say something more, faltered, and closed his mouth. The quiet between them was stifling.

"…Fine. I'll leave you alone. I…"

"Remember when I said that the book is second to my life?"

Link stopped mid-turn; nodded even though her back was still facing him. He remembered all too well, and the sense of scepticism over which was more important to her; the kids, or the relics of her past.

She wrapped herself in her familiar red cloak as she stroked the battered cover of her book. "Things have different meaning, and importance to me. Like my cloak. My cloak means my life. It _is_ me. But the book… What I said about it is exactly what it means; second best."

Link frowned. "But your mums wrote it for you. The cloak can be replaced-"

"No it can't." she spun round, and held his gaze. "It's like my skin, it's part of who I am, it's part of the image, the magic. This can't be replaced. But the book, it's… it's j-just a book."

And she was crying again, and Link took two steps forward, tucked her stray hair behind her ears and silenced her with a kiss.

She gasped, and he pulled back, just a little, to let her get over her shock. Then he kissed her again, and this time she responded, shyly, carefully, as if she would somehow ruin the moment. Fingers intertwined. He held her waist closer to his own as her other hand slid up his chest and settled against his jaw.

He broke the kiss but pressed his forehead against hers, closing his eyes as he breathed in her scent. "Take me."

She gave an undignified sniff and shook her head. "I can't take what is not mine, and I can't keep you from leaving me."

He grinned, mentally rolling his eyes. "I'm your familiar. And you're my Sheik."

"But you'll leave like the rest for a better life and I can't-"

"Sheik. _Sheik_." He opened his eyes, and looked into twin red orbs, and smiled. "I love you."

Her face burst into flame. She screwed her face closed and shook her head again. "You can't."

"I love you."

"You-"

He kissed her with more zeal. She kissed him fervently back, and when they parted she was breathless and he was frustrated. "I _said_," he growled, "I love you."

Tears rolled again, but she was smiling, almost sheepishly. "I… I think I love you too, Link."

"So…?" was his earnest prompt.

"May I…" she swallowed, cleared her throat, and whispered, "May I take you with me?"

"Please. And thank you."

...,...,...

Zelda didn't think too deeply on how Sheik took the mysterious dog/wolf creature instead of the book; after all, it was her familiar, and had nothing to do with her.

But when Link didn't show up for two days she got suspicious while everyone else panicked. She entered the room in which she'd last seen him, and found the book nestled in soft paper, and she opened it to browse through.

She skipped the old entries, and read where the ink was freshest.

"Once upon a time, there was a Kingdom that had the misfortune of gaining a vain Queen. Many a year the land suffered for her vanity and hubris, and her temper. These led to the poor being poorer, the rich turned sour, and the King to meet his early demise simply because he'd gotten too old for her taste.

A few months after she killed the King she gave birth to a child that was clearly going to be lovelier than her over the years, so sent the three maidens that'd helped the babe to life to a tower so tall none could climb it, sealed so that none could enter or leave.

And thus she was all alone in her large castle, with nothing but cruel creatures to call her Mistress.

She had but one enemy, and his name was Time. Every year he robbed her beauty and shared it with the growing children, the world, and this she could not stand. So she stooped in black magic, reaped the life of the Fairy Queen, and took her immortality and beauty as her own.

Meanwhile, the daughter, the Princess, doomed to starve in her mother's tower had escaped through the powers of the three maidens, who were in fact the goddesses in disguise. They taught her the tongue of the wild beasts, and the ways of the Fay. She grew to be beautiful and wise and kind, but knew nothing about her heritage.

One day, a Prince was hunting nearby, and upon seeing her, fell deeply in love. He sought to win her hand by serving her, and became as loyal as a dog, and guarded her as fearlessly as a wolf. From monsters and bandits the Princess was safe, and the Prince was tireless in his duties.

But through both monsters and bandits the Queen found that her daughter was alive. Fearing her very existence, and wishing to dispose of her, that Vain Queen kidnapped her with the Ghosts most terrible and prepared a sacrifice to transfer the Princess's beauty to herself.

The Prince flew into a rage and set out to defeat the Queen, riding three days and nights without stop.

When he confronted her he Queen had become so evil by then that she grew into a monstrous spider as big as the banquet hall, and strong as five wild horses. But surely, after a difficult battle, the Queen was defeated and the Prince stumbled up the sacrificial tower, where his love would surely be.

Alas, she was under a sleeping spell, and no matter how hard he shook her she stayed asleep. Mourning his loss, he gave her one last kiss before turning away. But Goddesses be praised, she reached up and clasped his hand, the spell broken by his kiss.

**"You have saved me, thus I owe you a boon," The Princess confessed, "What can I do for thee? But only one favour; that is the law of the Fay."**

The Prince kissed her again and pleaded, then, "Stay by my side. Walk by me, wake by me, live by me, and I swear to love you till the stars fall asleep."

"You shall have this boon," the Princess laughed, and they kissed once more.

They married. They moved to his homeland and lived on his estate, never to be disturbed, never to be found.

And they lived happily ever after.

Zelda looked out the window. The sun was radient outside, the wind blowing through the leaves of the garden trees. A bird zipped past, and sung as it found a mate and headed straight for the horizon, where a slip of Lake Hylia glistened like a strand of silver hair, slowly turning gold as the sun sparked across the sky.

She smiled, gently, closing the Book.

* * *

**I know, I know, lame ending. Shush. I couldn't think of anything better. **

** So yeah! 150plus reviews! XD Amazing! That's three stories over one hundred reviews, guys, how did this HAPPEN?**

** Because you guys are awesome. **

** Final review replies!**

** _simply anonymous_: Nah, they don't think she's a monster they just think she's a criminal. (-_-;) not the best difference but still... Anyway, yay to happy ending? And thank you so much for your constant reviews! I hope you enojyed this chapter!**

** _goldenrhino_: It's okay, people have preferences. I'm glad you liked this in the end though, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter too.**

** _Lady Kurina_: Lol, I hope this chapter solved all your worries! Thank you for your reviews, my lady, and I hope to see you in other stories I intend to write. See you!**

** _darkwolflink_: Yep, Link'll be the fishy for the next story, which I'm very excited about. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as you enjoyed the others, adn thank you so much for your support over the developing times!**

** _Sparty the Bold_: Giovanni is more a stubborn ass than an evil bastard, because he's too much of a coward to be the latter. He wanted Sheik out of the way so he-I mean Zelda (coughcoughshiftyeyes) can take the throne. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, though! It's a bit rushed and a little repetitive but yeah, I'm just crossing my fingers on it saving itself. Thank you so much for all your reviews, and I hope you have a good year.**

_** deikitty**_**: I hope you have an awesome expression on your face as you read the ending. Thank you for your reviews, and I hope you enjoyed the story!**

** _Trolly's Bara-chan_: I think Sheik si never, EVER going to find out that Link kissed her mom. (Shudder) LOL! Link would rather die first. Thank you for your reviews, and I hope you got to enjoy this chapter!**

** _Me: _Thank you me! For all the comments and reviews and everything. I hope you enjoyed!**

** _Nyx the Last Keybearer_: Thanks for your reviews, and I hope you liked this ending! Hopefully I'll see you again in my other stories. **

** _Wolfslegend_: Thank you for your kind words, and I hope you enjoyed the way I finished this fic. Stay turned for others! I've got more where they came from. **

** _fabianka-sama: _And here is your happy ending. Thank you so much for your reviews, and I hope you have a look at my other fics too. Thanks again!**

** _CatsGotTongue_: Here's the update, though there's only one instead of two. I hope you enjoyed it and thank you so much for your many many reviews!**

** That's it from me for now guys! Happy new year!**

Enjoy!

* * *

**_Happily Ever After_**


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